I usually know within the first few pages. And that statement rings true whether I am reading a book for work or reading a book for pleasure. With The Good Son, however, I knew the minute I heard it.
After working at HarperCollins in New York City for nearly 15 years, I decided to move to London to explore new opportunities and possibilities. I joined Conville & Walsh literary agency in order to not only work more directly with writers but also to have a strong hand in developing authors’ careers. At night, I helped a close friend of mine launch a new sort of bookstore that would not only be independently minded, but become a venue for events that celebrated creativity. It was at this store, The Society Club in Soho, that I would first meet Paul McVeigh.
Paul McVeigh was a walking smile as he entered the shop. In a room full of strangers, as is often the case at events, you just know he will be someone to talk to. Little did I know at the time, that we’d develop not only a strong friendship, but he’d pull out a manuscript – dust it off – and I’d be writing an essay about it for The Irish Times.
Paul was one of the featured readers that night at The Society Club. The event was being hosted by The Word Factory – a salon that aims to celebrate the art of the short story, an initiative developed by Cathy Galvin. Acclaimed and award-winning writers would often read on the same night as new up-and-coming talent. As a literary agent I am always happy to attend events and keep an ear out for new talents worth chatting up.
As Paul made his way to the front of the room, I could just tell that this was going to be special. To be honest, I don’t remember exactly what Paul read that night – it might have been a short story or an extract from a longer piece of work – but I do remember being absolutely charmed by his prose, phrasing and characters. And, importantly, voice.
In fiction, I am most attracted to voice. Voice, when it comes to writing, is all about the style of the sentence structure and how a writer crafts dialogue. It would be later that I learned that Paul had experience in writing for stage and radio. Which is likely where he developed his craftsmanship in creating believable characters that are, to use a phrase so often used – “voice driven”.
I made a bee-line to Paul immediately after the event and worked my way to ask him the million-dollar question: do you have a novel?
Yes!
Soon after, I was absorbed in a first draft of The Good Son – a novel about a young boy who has a very difficult summer ahead of him. And the voice that was so clear that night at the book store resonated on the page. I knew that I had to represent Paul and his novel.
What I loved about the novel – and I do read several books a week – was Paul’s ability to not only tell a story but his talent for distinguishing each character with their own personality, values, conflicts and – voice. There’s that word again.
In many ways, as I was reading, I forgot I was reading. The ultimate testament to a book – the story becomes so powerful and engrossing, the reader is simply left with that wonderfully ultimate outcome – getting lost in a good story.
We were thrilled when Salt Publishers, an independent press with a track record of publishing strong, award-winning fiction, fell in love with The Good Son. Soon after Salt, came offers of an audiobook to be published by Whole Story Audiobooks and then foreign translation editions from Germany, France and, most recently, one to be published in Hungary next year. And since Salt’s initial publication more than 14 months ago, the reviews, endorsements, promotions haven’t slowed down.
When Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee was published, Paul was asked to participate in a high-profile London launch and was selected to participate in a panel about writing from the perspective of a child narrator. The event organisers clearly recognised the connection between the classic To Kill a Mockingbird and The Good Son and the audience was enthralled with discussions of how difficult it is to capture a story told through the eyes of a young narrator.
Brighton, almost as far away from the setting of The Good Son as you can get in England, recently picked the novel as part of their City Reads campaign – a campaign that encourages readers throughout the city to read the book and discuss as a community.
In a world where a new book is published seemingly every minute, to have a debut novel have such a continued life is rare. It is the classic example of one person telling another, “you have to read this”.
So with that, I will simply end this by saying; “you have to read this”.
Carrie Kania is a literary agent with Conville & Walsh in London. Prior to that, she worked for nearly 15 years in US publishing at Random House and HarperCollins. carriek@convilleandwalsh.com
Throughout July, we shall explore The Good Son from many angles, not just with its author but also with contributions by several other well-known writers, including Lisa McInerney, winner of the Baileys and Desmond Elliott Prize; Laura van den Berg, whom Salon.com called “the best young writer in America”; Alison Moore, Booker-shortlisted author of The Lighthouse; Lucy Caldwell, winner of the Dylan Thomas & Rooney Prize; Danielle McLaughlin; Paul Burston, author of seven novels and founder of The Polari Salon & Prize; as well as Sarah Hutchings of City Reads Brighton; and his British and German publishers, Jen Emery-Hamilton and Lena Luczak. The month will culminate in a podcast in which the author will discuss his novel with Martin Doyle, assistant literary editor of The Irish Times. This will be published on July 31st and recorded at a public event in the Irish Writers Centre, Parnell Square, Dublin, on Tuesday, July 19th, at 7.30pm.
