{"product_id":"threads-9780099582199","title":"Threads","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the East Anglian Book of the Year 2015 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWi\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003enner of the New Angle Book Prize 2017\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Craske, a Norfok fisherman, was born in 1881 and in 1917, when he had just turned thirty-six, he fell seriously ill. For the rest of his life he kept moving in and out of what was described as a stuporous state'. In 1923 he started making paintings of the sea and boats and the coastline seen from the sea, and later, when he was too ill to stand and paint, he turned to embroidery, which he could do lying in bed. His embroideries were also the sea, including his masterpiece, a huge embroidery of \u003ci\u003eThe Evacuation of Dunkirk\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVery few facts about Craske are known, and only a few scattered photographs have survived, together with accounts by the writer Sylvia Townsend Warner and her lover Valentine Ackland, who discovered Craske in 1937. So  -  as with all her books - Julia Blackburn's account of his life is far from a conventional biography. Instead i\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOh, what a miraculous book this is: parochial, weird and inconclusive in a way that few books dare to be these days, and illustrated so generously, with something beautiful or interesting on every other page. Buy it, and let it take you out to sea, no sou’wester required. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eWonderful… I lay down her book without knowing the cause of the “mental stupors” that defined Craske’s life, or understanding his relationship to his complicated family, but feeling I had inhaled the cold salt of the East Anglian coastline from which he sailed when he was well, and run my fingers across the bright wool of the embroideries he made when he was not. -- Helen Brown, 5 stars * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eI believe I have already found my book of the year. Blackburn’s “biography”… almost defies the category… But it is so beautifully and hypnotically done that each page leaves you spellbound. Rarely can such an unusual telling so thoroughly, and so movingly, reflect the nature of the life being told. -- Lesley McDowell * Herald *\u003cbr\u003eI wish I could quote something from every page as that would convince you to read this book… This is a book to remind you that wonders lie scattered like jewels in the most ordinary places. -- Rachel Campbell-Johnston * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eIt is hard to pin down what it is that makes \u003ci\u003eThreads \u003c\/i\u003esuch a warmly attractive book… Julia Blackburn is an odd, sometimes even disconcerting writer, but she is an amazingly good one, too. The words she puts on paper do what written words should do: they make things real… She leaves her reader feeling grateful and happy. * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eA cleverly crafted book that is far more than the obvious sum of its parts… [A] truly delightful book. -- Honor Clerk * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e[An] extraordinary book. -- Chloe Colchester * Oldie *\u003cbr\u003eA beautifully illustrated, wry, emphatic and deeply moving triumph. -- Dan Brotzel * Lady *\u003cbr\u003eA poignant meditation on creativity and grief. -- Dan Brotzel * Press *\u003cbr\u003eSubtle and absorbing book. -- 4 stars * UK Press Syndication *\u003cbr\u003eThe book sounds like a haphazard collection of anecdotes, but is in fact a richly satisfying whole tied together by the autobiographical component. This is a book to be read slowly and savoured for the quality of Blackburn’s vision and her subtle, unadorned yet poetic prose. -- Vanessa Berridge, 5 stars * Sunday Express *\u003cbr\u003e[A] wonderfully eccentric biography. -- Peter Carty * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eA poignant meditation on creativity and grief. -- Kate Whiting * UK Press Syndication *\u003cbr\u003eCharming and unusual book. * Four Shires *\u003cbr\u003eStrange, engrossing…superbly illustrated. -- Caroline Jackson * Country Life *\u003cbr\u003eCraske remains as private a man as before…but Blackburn’s eloquent appreciation of his work and her sympathy with his sorrows make this remarkable book the best tribute he could have received. -- Claire Harman * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eHer most glittering book to date. -- Ian Collins * Eastern Daily Press *\u003cbr\u003eThis is biography with a difference. * Dovegreyreader Scribbles *\u003cbr\u003eCompelling and beautifully written. * Country \u0026amp; Town House *\u003cbr\u003eMy favourite book of the year. -- Rachel Joyce * Observer *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vintage Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49083354972503,"sku":"9780099582199","price":24.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780099582199.jpg?v=1725548649","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/threads-9780099582199","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}