Joshua in the Sky
A Blood Memoir
Published on 5. September 2024
Book
Hardback
978-1-7392077-9-3 (ISBN)
Description
Joshua dies on his birthday.
Joshua dies the day he is born.
Joshua lives for three hours.
Joshua is alive.
Rodge Glass's nephew Joshua died the same day he was born, from a blood condition they both share.
This book charts the five years around Joshua's life and death to tell the story of Rodge's attempts to make sense of this loss. Having spent a lifetime using reading and writing to both hide from and face the world, Joshua in the Sky serves as a kind of reckoning, asking the questions: whose life deserves to be remembered? And how?
Joshua dies the day he is born.
Joshua lives for three hours.
Joshua is alive.
Rodge Glass's nephew Joshua died the same day he was born, from a blood condition they both share.
This book charts the five years around Joshua's life and death to tell the story of Rodge's attempts to make sense of this loss. Having spent a lifetime using reading and writing to both hide from and face the world, Joshua in the Sky serves as a kind of reckoning, asking the questions: whose life deserves to be remembered? And how?
Reviews / Votes
'It found me in pieces then gently wove me back together again.' - Helen Sedgwick'A work of great tenderness and originality.' - Malachy Tallack
'Stands testament to the healing power of stories.' - Michael Pedersen
'A wonderful, humane book.' - Chitra Ramaswamy
'Brave, original and ultimately devastating.' - The Scotsman
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 138 mm
Width: 207 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
362 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-7392077-9-3 (9781739207793)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
RODGE GLASS is the author of the novels No Fireworks (Faber, 2005), Hope for Newborns (Faber, 2008) and Bring Me the Head of Ryan Giggs (Serpent's Tail, 2012) as well as a graphic novel, Dougie's War (Freight, 2010, written with Dave Turbitt), LoveSexTravelMusik: Stories for the EasyJet Generation (Freight, 2013) and Alasdair Gray: A Secretary's Biography (Bloomsbury, 2008). His latest book is Michel Faber: The Writer & His Work, published by Liverpool University Press, in August 2023. The creative nonfiction memoir Joshua in the Sky is due to be published in Summer 2024 by Taproot Press. He is currently Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Strathclyde, where he is Convener of the MLitt in Creative Writing.