Malachy Tallack’s second novel is out soon and we can’t wait! In the meantime, we spoke to him about his favourite books.

That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz
By Malachy Tallack
Published by Canongate

The book as . . . memory. What is your first memory of books and reading?   

I know my parents read to me when I was very young, but what they read I can’t recall. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Where the Wild Things Are must have been among those books, since there were still copies in the house years later. When I began making my own choices about what to read, though, it was the Famous Five and Just William books that I picked.   

The book as . . . your work. Tell us about your latest novel That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz. What did you want to explore in writing it?   

It’s a book about how easily a settled, stable life can become unsettled. The main character, Jack, is a solitary man, but his life is turned upside down when something unexpected arrives on his doorstep. It’s also a book about music, with songs scattered through the novel, which I’ve also recorded, to be released as an album at the same time. The novel is set in Shetland, and also explores unlikely friendships, and the way past events can shape a life.  

The book as . . . inspiration. What is your favourite book that has informed how you see yourself? 

George Mackay Brown’s books were very important to me when I was younger and thinking about the relationship between self and place, and about what it means to be part of and write about an island community. His memoir especially, For the Islands I Sing, resonated a great deal. 

The book as . . . an object. What is your favourite beautiful book? 

 The most beautiful books are often those that make you look anew at something that previously felt familiar. Two examples: Nests by Susan Ogilvy features stunning illustrations of nests built by various bird species. And Stone Walls is a collection of pictures by photographer Mariana Cook showing, yes, dry stone walls, from Shetland to Ireland to Kentucky. The diversity of building techniques – and of stones themselves – is part of what makes these pictures so fascinating. The walls are both functional and beautiful, built from the most basic of materials.   

The book as . . . a relationship. What is your favourite book that bonded you to someone else? 

 My wife Roxani and I lived on different continents for more than a year after we first met. There were many books we recommended to each other or read alongside one another in that time – albeit thousands of miles apart. It made the distance seem less daunting.  

The book as . . . rebellion. What is your favourite book that felt like it revealed a secret truth to you? 

I began reading Wendell Berry in my late twenties, starting with the The Art of the Commonplace. Those essays dealt with community, economy, land and much more. The thinking within them felt both radical and strangely familiar to me, as if I’d been waiting years to hear his words.   

The book as . . . a destination. What is your favourite book set in a place unknown to you?   

 Well, I’m currently reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Orbital by Samantha Harvey. It’s set on the International Space Station, which, as you might imagine, is not somewhere I’ve been before. It’s the second book this year I’ve read about space – not a subject that usually interests me much. The other was Martin MacInnes’s wonderful novel In Ascension.  

The book as . . . the future. What are you looking forward to reading next?   

As always, there is a pile of books in the bedroom waiting to be read, and others seem to land on the doorstep all the time. The most recent arrival was Richard Fortey’s Close Encounters of the Fungal Kind, which might just skip to the top of the pile. After spending time in space, it will be good to get right back down to earth again. 

That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz by Malachy Tallack is published by Canongate, priced £18.99.