I've been way for a while, having had a triple heart bypass in February of last year. Here is the text of an article I wrote for Times about my experience, which includes the material they cut and doubtless some of the typos they corrected. Since writing the article my physical fitness has increased steadily, but my brain remained foggy thanks to 'pump head' / post-perfusion syndrome, a common but poorly understood range of cognitive problems caused (probably - though there is some distpue about this) by having been on a heart-lung machine.
I've been way for a while, having had a triple heart bypass in February of last year. Here is the text of an article I wrote for Times about my experience, which includes the material they cut and doubtless some of the typos they corrected. Since writing the article my physical fitness has increased steadily, but my brain remained foggy thanks to 'pump head' / post-perfusion syndrome, a common but poorly understood range of cognitive problems caused (probably - though there is some distpue about this) by having been on a heart-lung machine.
I did a long-form interview with Simon Akam for the podcast Always Take Notes. I am a little under-caffeinated (not a bad thing, perhaps), but it was a welcome chance to answer questions at a greater length than writers are normally given. The podcast also features interviews with, among many others, Candice Carty-Wlliams, Peter Frankopan, Hermione Lee, Nikesh Shukla and Ian Rankin. You can find it here:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/always-take-notes/id1224996246?mt=2
The artwork is by the Brazilian illustrator Edson Ikê and i think it's wonderful. You can see more of his work at http://www.ensaiografico.com.br
I did an interview with Tim Hughes about painting, landscapes, icebergs, Wytham Woods and the old Land Rover parked round the corner: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/17242408.mark-haddon-oxford-writer-and...
I did an interview with Laurire Bailey as part of his Time Out show on Radio Oxford. You can listen to it here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06sc37r
These were taken by Charles Moriarty whose fantastic work you can see here: http://charlesmoriartyphotography.com where you will also find details of his recently published book of photos of Amy Winehouse early in her career, Back to Amy. If you want to use the photos, get in touch with Fran or Sophie at Vintage: mitchellowen@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk
On 30th November I gave a talk "The Other Side" for 5x15 at the Conway Hall alongside talks by Sarah Perry, Sophie Hannah, Andrew Michael Hurley and Richard MacLean Smith (and some beautiful solo violin from Sarah Daramy Williams which is, shamefully, not available here): https://soundcloud.com/search?q=5x15%20Halloween
The Porpoise will be published by Chatto & Windus in the UK in May 2019 and by Doubleday in the US in June 2019. “‘I really am so very, very sorry about this,’ he says, in an oddly formal voice… They strike the side of a grain silo. They are travelling at seventy miles per hour…”
The cover art – which I like a lot - is by David Cass. You can see more of his work here:
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