The Voice that Thunders

A collection of writings by the author of the 2022 Booker Prize-shortlisted Treacle Walker

'His work has a symphonic quality unique in fiction' THE TIMES

‘The autobiography of one of the most distinct and profound writers we have’ GUARDIAN

In this rich collection of writings, spanning more than twenty years, Alan Garner, the Booker shortlisted author of Treacle Walker, explores his interest in a dazzling range of subjects; from archaeology, myth and language, to education, literature, film, music and philosophy, as well as mental health and our most profound quest for the spiritual.

The Voice That Thunders serves as an early poetic autobiography of one of England's best-loved but least public writers. These essays chart how, after hearing himself declared dead at the age of six, he went on to become the writer he is today: one drawing on the deep well of a rural working-class childhood and one inspired by a family of craftsmen who instilled in him the passion for excellence and innovation and humour that guides him to this day.

Candid and illuminating, The Voice That Thunders is an enchanting collection from one of Britain’s greatest living writers.

‘A brilliant collection of essays’ INDEPENDENT

Reviews

'His work has a symphonic quality unique in fiction' The Times

‘Garner casts light on his writing and thinking, and the role that manic depression plays in his creativity’ Guardian

‘Garner is his own man… taut, powerful and credible’ Penelope Lively

‘A brilliant collection of essays’ Independent

‘A collection of essays and lectures, but since their singular theme is Alan Garner, boy and man, it is, in effect, his Prelude, the autobiography of one of the most distinct and profound writers we have … The Voice that Thunders is his magpie's diary, a confessional from a kleptomaniac of the sacred and the arcane. It is the kind of book which points at worlds it would be wonderful to know – worlds that Alan Garner has spent a lifetime exploring and all of them in his backyard’ Guardian

‘His is a consummate artist's vision that matches landscape and people and story; his is an artist's ear able to hear preliterate song as well as local speech and adolescent slang. With great skill he has wielded these into tales uniquely blending rustic vigour and classical economy of diction. They have won him a place in the company of English writers’ Ralph Elliott, Labrys 7

‘Alan Garner's themes are huge, urgent, compassionate, his voice distinguished by clarity, compression, precision, depth of feeling and sharpness of thought’ Neil Philip, A Fine Anger: A Critical Introduction to the Work of Alan Garner

About the author

Alan Garner is an English novelist best known for his fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. He was born in Cheshire in 1934 and his childhood was spent in Alderley Edge, where his family has lived for more than four hundred years. His fourth book, The Owl Service, won The Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal, and was made into a TV series. It has established itself as a contemporary classic and Garner as a writer of distinction. In 2022, his novel Treacle Walker was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He was awarded the OBE in 2001 for his services to literature.