British Author Challenge October 2025: Sarah Moss & Christopher Isherwood

Sarah Moss is included at the suggestion of @PaulCranswick. I've not read her before, but I checked out Summerwater and Ghost Wall from the library.

Selected Works
Ghost Wall
Cold Earth
Summerwater
The Fell
Signs for Lost Children
Scott's Last Biscuit: The Literature of Polar Exploration
Spilling the Beans: Eating, Cooking, Reading and Writing in British Women's Fiction, 1770-1830
Chocolate: A Global History
My Good Bright Wolf

When I took over the BAC a few years ago, I made a list of authors who hadn't been featured yet and Christopher Isherwood was one of the first names I added. Well past time we feature him!

Selected Works
All the Conspirators
The Memorial
Prater Violet
The Berlin Stories
Down There on a Visit
A Single Man
Frankenstein: The True Story
Kathleen and Frank
Christopher and His Kind
My Guru and His Disciple
Journey to a War
Exhumations

I have plenty of options for both authors. For Sarah Moss, I will read her latest novel Ripeness.

I will for sure be reading Cold Earth by Sarah Moss for this challenge. Unfortunately for me, Isherwood is not readily available here other than his Berlin Stories and I read that just last year.

I was planning on taking part because there are a couple of Isherwood books I want to get to, but I have a bit too much on my plate right now so I have resigned myself to "if I find the time". If I do, I'll be reading A Single Man.

I’m planning on A Single Man. I have read the Berlin Stories. He is not a favorite author for me. I have 3 possibles for Sarah Moss.

How annoying. I thought I recognized Ghost Wall and my library list tells me I have, but I made no notes and couldn't find it among my old threads. When I read Sybylline's review, I was sure. And I remember how enjoyable it was. Well, that means I should read another Moss soon. What a burden!

Wow, October went by fast for me! I did manage to read both authors, though.

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

There's nothing supernatural about this and there's no killer on the loose, but I can't help but read this as a horror story. The ending could have been a little stronger, but otherwise it's very, very good.

Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood

On the surface this a light work about a writer who's kind of press ganged into becoming a screenwriter for an adaption of a failed musical play, to be directed by an eccentric Austrian director; however, the looming specter of WWII gives this more depth and a much darker feeling.

I'll have the November thread up later today.

I finished A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood today. It’s was okay, but not much more than that.

>9 PawsforThought: Have you seen the movie?

>10 amanda4242: Yes, I saw it when it came out and quite liked it, strangely enough.

>11 PawsforThought: I think it did a better job of showing George's grief than the book did. Colin Firth's performance was brilliant.

I did read Summerwater by Sarah Moss but it is looking like I won't get to Isherwood. I've read his books on 1001 and since he's not a favorite of mine, I don't care if I don't get to him this time.

>13 Kristelh: Is it just Goodbye to Berlin and Mr. Norris Changes Trains on the 1001 list? I liked both of them, but I think several of his works not on the list are better.

The November thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/375026