Your chance to see excellent US author Donald Ray Pollock

Read any good books yet this year? If the answer is a resounding no, it’s time to buy tickets for our next Book & Beer Club. 

For our fourth event, we have a special evening lined up with US author, Donald Ray Pollock. The Heavenly Table is his second novel, and will be a book you won’t be able to stop recommending once you’ve finished. 

Set in 1917, it’s a graphic and blood-laced tale of three brothers robbing and killing their way across the US. After their heavily religious father dies, the siblings formulate a sketchy plan to rob a bank. Safe to say, things rapidly escalate.

Pollock, from Ohio, only took up writing in his fifties. Twelve years later, he’s garnered awards, acclaim and is one of the leading writers of a new generation of American gothic literature. His latest tome is a bit like reading Hunter S Thompson crossed with Cormac McCarthy – and a sprinkling of Nick Cave chucked in for brutal measure. It’s the kind of book you just know the Coen brothers are itching to adapt, with its vast array of quirky characters and black humour.

We’ve teamed up with Vintage publishing for the event to bring this special evening to ShortList readers: £10 will get you entry, a signed copy of the new book and a beer on arrival. Pollock will be there to read an extract and answer your questions. All you need now is the date, which is 11 October, 7pm at The Blues Kitchen in Brixton (40 Acre Lane, SW2). See you there. 

Tickets are priced at £10, available from eventbrite.com