Culture Street

As if we weren’t excited enough at the return of Cold Feet! Mike Bullen, the creator/writer of the brilliant BAFTA award-winning series Cold Feet, has penned his first novel.

Here’s a little bit about Trust:

Greg and Amanda are happy. They've been together thirteen years and have two young daughters. They're still in love.

Dan and Sarah aren't so fortunate. Their marriage has grown stale. They're going through the motions for the sake of their 15-year-old son.

Friends and colleagues, Greg and Dan attend a conference where a chance encounter with two fellow delegates, Lynda and Liz, leads to a drink in the hotel bar, followed by another, and ultimately one too many.

The men have an opportunity to cheat. Dan's not interested. He's too upright. Uptight too. But Greg, at the age of 39 and conscious that he might never have this opportunity again, is tempted. After all, where's the harm? Amanda will never find out . . .

Intrigued? You can buy the book here.

Mike joins us today to share his Five Books of Influence.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

When I read this book as a teenager it blew me away. A satirical novel set during the Second World War, it was iconoclastic in a way that made the heart of this schoolboy at a British private school soar. It was witty, saucy, and anti-establishment, all things I aspired to be. Reared on Dickens et al, I hadn’t previously read a novel that took such liberties with form and language. I never rebelled (never dared to), but loving this book felt like my own small act of independence. I’d urge all young people to read it. Buy the book here.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I was 22, backpacking round south east Asia with my girlfriend. I’d read all the books in my rucksack so had to start on hers. The first volume of Maya Angelou’s autobiography didn’t look to be to my taste, but from the first paragraph I was captivated, walking those dusty Arkansas streets with the barefoot narrator. Being a middle-class white boy from the UK I had nothing in common with Maya Angelou, but her humanity, expressed through prose that read like poetry, transcended that gap. Years later I got to meet Ms Angelou; it remains one of my life’s highlights. You can buy the book here.

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A loosely autobiographical novel, set in 1771, about a sensitive German youth who (spoiler alert!) is driven to suicide by his love for an unavailable woman. This was a literary phenomenon in Europe at the time, and incited many young men to dress like the unfortunate hero. As a student at Cambridge University, and being of a Romantic bent myself, I was touched by the depth of Werther’s passion. I dramatized the novel for the stage. A few years ago I made a pilgrimage to Wetzlar in Germany, where took place the real events upon which the novel is based. Buy the book here.

The Risk Pool by Richard Russo

Possibly the least well-known author on this list, but of the five books, this is my favourite. Set in upstate New York in the 1950s, it tells the tale of a son’s relationship with his ne’er-do-well father. It’s a story of family and community (themes that run through my own writing), full of humour and emotion. What stands out it is the author’s compassion towards his characters, however flawed they are as human beings. I loved this book so much I haven’t dared re-read it in case it’s not as good second time around. But maybe now I will… Buy the book here.

Adventures In The Screen Trade by William Goldman

A memoir by William Goldman, the screenwriter of such films as Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, All The President’s Men and The Princess Bride (what credits!), this insight into Hollywood film-making is a must-read for anyone contemplating a career as a script writer (and may well put you off!). In this book Goldman coins the phrase “Nobody knows anything”. Over my years as a script writer I’ve come to realise just how true that is. Sadly, it applies to writers just as much as executives. A rollicking good read, and another on this list I shall revisit. Buy the book here.