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A book of silence

A Book of Silence is both an autobiographical memoir covering about 15 years of the author’s life and a cultural study/ history of silence predominantly, but not exclusively, within the Western tradition. As such it represents an experimental form, conflating two usually distinct genres within literary studies. Its research method reflects this, combining as it does traditional socio-historical work into the history of silence with meditation and prayer, interviews and conversations; and practice-based research (including visits to the Sinai Desert, a six week period of silence on the Isle of Sky and attending the dying.) The resulting heterodox material was framed into a chronological narrative of a broadly traditional type which nonetheless deployed an unusual amount of material quoted from other writers.

The book was published by Granta Books in hardback in 2008 and in paperback in 2009. It was extensively reviewed in the national media including The Guardian, The Economist, The Observer and The New York Times and is listed first on Amazon’s “Top Rated Biographies”. It led to a range of media interviews and appearances including “Start the Week” with Andrew Marr (BBC Radio 4) and “Songs of Praise” (BBC 1). It was shortlisted for the Scottish Book of the Year, the Orwell Prize, the Bristol Festival of Ideas Award, and The Samuel Johnson Prize. It has subsequently sold over 50,000 English language copies and has been translated into 11 other languages.