Sam Taylor's books |
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The Republic of Trees
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The Island at the End of the World
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Reviews of The Republic of Trees One of the most vivid, gripping and chilling first novels of recent years, The Republic of Trees tells the story of Michael, Louis, Alex and Isobel, four children on the edge of adolescence, who run away to the forest. They hunt, climb trees, fall in love, and plan a revolution. But as the heat of the summer rises, the shadows of a nightmarish dystopia start to encroach on reality and The Republic of Trees powers towards a shocking and unforgettable climax. 'Long hot summers and first love go hand in hand: Sam Taylor's first novel captures the hallucinatory qualities of both. A fluent stylist, Taylor has little trouble in keeping us under his sea-green spell.' Independent 'Enchanting and deeply disturbing.' Observer 'Sam Taylor clearly relishes storytelling, and his novel has the kind of swift pace that's rare in literary fiction, sweeping you up and carrying you to a place where anything might happen.' Daily Mail 'The sort of compelling tale that demands to be read in a single sitting.' Publishing News 'His prose throbs with sexual tension.' Literary Review 'A sensual, dreamy book... shot through with adolescent longing.' Voyager 'Sam Taylor is een talent om rekening mee te houden.' Het Parool 'Taylor has three small children. If this is typical of his bedtime stories, I hope he's saving up for the therapy.' The Insight Click here to read 'Does Joy really exist?', an interview about the characters and meanings of The Republic of Trees. Sam Taylor discusses The Republic of Trees here. To order a copy of The Republic of Trees, click here |
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Reviews of The Amnesiac A dazzling, multilayered detective novel, The Amnesiac is the story of James Purdew, a 30-year-old Englishman who lives in Amsterdam with his Dutch girlfriend Ingrid. Their life is simple and happy until, one day during the summer of the great heatwave, James breaks a bone in his ankle. With his leg in a plastercast, and his relationship with Ingrid falling apart, James becomes quietly obsessed with his own past — in particular three years of his life, which seem to have disappeared from his memory. So James travels back to the city of H. where he lived during those lost years, and finds a familiar house, now derelict. Stripping the wallpaper from one of the rooms, James discovers the first chapter of Confessions of a Killer, a Victorian thriller which seems to offer clues to a tragedy that took place in the house years before. A journey into memory and amnesia, hope and fear, the human mind and the modern world, The Amnesiac is a compelling novel by one of Britain’s most innovative young storytellers. 'Transfixing... an invigorating existential detective story. Many amnesiacs are gifted storytellers, and so is Taylor himself, tripping us through the subplots, enticingly, teasingly... The Amnesiac is an original, derivative, exasperating, tender triumph. On the back of Taylor's similarly readable debut, The Republic of Trees, it announces his arrival as one to watch.' Daily Telegraph 'A clever, beautifully written examination of memory and the tricks it can play. A literary novel of huge scope. The beauty of the writing and the strength of the ideas are compulsive... Some things are better forgotten. Fortunately, this book is not one of them.' Sunday Express 'Haunting... Taylor [has the] ability to create believable yet off-kilter worlds... Accomplished and entertaining.' Observer 'A work of high seriousness... full of fascinating incidents. Taylor is so good at writing about ordinary life.' Times Literary Supplement 'Evocative and highly satisfying.' Sunday Times 'One to remember. Well crafted... absorbing.' New Statesman 'Taylor's prose, as with his story, is not only marvellously tight, but also surprisingly innovative. He creates intrigue, suspense and real menace... A story within a story within a story is no new literary device, but Taylor more than adequately rises to the challenge of creating something original and gripping from the form.' Books Quarterly 'A strange and mysterious novel that will keep you guessing-and keep you reading... What's scintillating about "The Amnesiac" is that nothing about it seems real or authentic or true. And yet within this bewitching fiction, Taylor manages to suggest a truth that overarches any plain old fact.' Chicago Tribune 'A hallucinatory, postmodern collage of obsession, alienation, and the search for self in a solipsistic age... It's a fairly bleak, claustrophobic tale, but Mr. Taylor, it turns out, is more optimistic than most of his literary heroes. He is also a great believer in the power, even the necessity, of storytelling.' New York Sun '[A] Twilight Zone for twentysomethings - a mix of suspense, philosophical musing and the working-out of personal issues.' Wall Street Journal 'A dazzling and memorable novel by a writer of considerable distinction... Taylor plays games with the conventions of the detective story - and that can itself be a dangerous game. But he gets away with it through sheer bravado. Recommended.' Tangled Web 'A complex and compelling read. Challenging the reader, playing games, hiding secrets, giving hints along with red herrings and dragging us into our own minds, memories and dreams, the book is strongly recommended.' French News Click here for the full Daily Telegraph article entitled 'Enter a beautifully perplexing world'. Click here for 'Sam Taylor's Top 10 unforgettable books about forgetting'. To read the first chapter, click here To order a copy of The Amnesiac, click here. |
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Reviews of The Island at the End of the World Through the eyes of eight-year-old Finn we find ourselves on a small island, surrounded by nothing but sea. Finn lives here with his Pa, his elder sister Alice and his younger sister Daisy, and has no memory of any world but this one. All he knows of the past comes from the songs and stories of his father, which tell of the great flood that drowned all the other inhabitants of the earth, a deluge their family survived thanks to the ark in which they now live. Alice, however, has entered adolescence, and treasures vague memories of her dead mother and of life before the flood. As her relationship with her father changes, she begins to see holes in his account of the past, and desperately seeks contact with the outside world. And when a boy, a stranger, is washed up on the shore, apparently in answer to the message she sent in a bottle, it appears they may not be alone after all... 'Riveting... Imagine the menace, paranoia and naked fear of Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory, alongside the idyll-gone-feral nature of Alex Garland's The Beach and you're in the same disturbing ball-park. The Island At the End of the World is a terrific read. Part existential thriller, part family drama, with a dollop of post-apocalyptic mystery thrown in for good measure, it's never short of compelling.' Sunday Business Post ‘Cunningly crafted… The Island at the End of the World manages to combine rollercoaster storytelling with a deep mythic quality… It’s a powerful mystery story, but also a carefully observed book about the underbelly of family life.’ Observer 'Something powerful lurks at the heart of The Island at the End of the World.' Guardian 'Taylor builds a creepy, dreamlike atmosphere of danger and suspense.' Times 'A chilling tale of one man's psychological unravelling... Edge-of-your-seat stuff.' Image 'Taylor's great achievement is to make us feel the family's isolation in the very grain of their language.' Financial Times 'The creative use of prose produces a tantalising friction between fiction and reality.' Metro 'Beautifully done - the writing is spare and evocative... Tension rises as much as in a horror novel.' TheBookbag.co.uk ‘With Nick Cave-like thunder and lyricism, Sam Taylor weaves a twisted, post-apocalyptic tale of personal and family dysfunction and the abuse of innocence. Disturbing and enchanting... haunting and addictive. A worthwhile, suprisingly topical read.’ Hot Press 'Through the delicate and naturalistic voices of the ensemble storytelling, the antediluvian lives of the characters unfold quickly and vividly... enjoyable.’ Oxford Times |
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