Publisher Description

The latest memoir by the prize-winning author of A Lie About My FatherIn this exquisite, haunting book, John Burnside describes his coming of age from the industrial misery of Cowdenbeath and Corby to the new world of Cambridge.The old Scots word 'glamour' means magical charm, and the first time he was played I Put a Spell on You, John Burnside thought he had never heard a more beautiful song - it was an enchantment, a fascination that would turn to obsession. Implicit in the song were all the ambiguities that intrigued him - love, possession, and danger - and this book is an exploration of the darker side of glamour and attraction.Beginning with memories of a brutal murder, the book follows the author through a series of uncanny encounters with 'lost girls', with brilliant digressions on murder ballads, voodoo, acid and insomnia, and a cast that includes Kafka and Narcissus, Diane Arbus and Mel Lyman, The Four Tops and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and time spent lost in the Arctic Circle, black-and-white films and a mental institution.Ending with the tender summoning of the ghost of his dying mother as she sings along to the radio in her empty kitchen, I Put a Spell on You is a book about memory, about the other side of love- a book of secrets and wonders.'A marvellously meandering, digressive study of the nature of love... Exact and enthralling.' Tessa Hadley

Notes

Latest memoir from the prize-winning author of A Lie About My Father. Here, Burnside describes his coming of age from the industrial misery of Cowdenbeath and Corby to the new world of Cambridge.

Author Biography

John Burnside was among the most acclaimed writers of his generation. His novels, short stories, poetry and memoirs won numerous awards, including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial, Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and, in 2024, he received the David Cohen Prize for a lifetime's achievement in literature. In 2011 Black Cat Bone won both the Forward and the T.S. Eliot Prizes for poetry.

Review

A marvellously meandering, digressive study of the nature of love… Burnside has a lovely garrulousness that is distinctively his own… Exact and enthralling. -- Tessa Hadley * Guardian *
[An] indirect, peculiar, consuming memoir… Full of wonders. -- Kate Kellaway * Observer *
A wise and wryly glum autobiography written in a highly rewarding, pared-back style. -- Martin Hemming * Sunday Times *
Captivating and unsettling… A work of scalding honesty. -- Sophie Elmhirst * Financial Times *
Intoxicating… Remarkable… A long-player that resonates long after the stylus has lifted. -- Brian Morton * Glasgow Sunday Herald *

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The latest memoir by the prize-winning author of A Lie About My Father

Review Text

A marvellously meandering, digressive study of the nature of love... Burnside has a lovely garrulousness that is distinctively his own... Exact and enthralling.

Review Quote

A marvellously meandering, digressive study of the nature of love... Burnside has a lovely garrulousness that is distinctively his own... Exact and enthralling.

Promotional "Headline"

The latest memoir by the prize-winning author of A Lie About My Father

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