A review by onerodeahorse
Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske by Julia Blackburn

4.0

A beautifully written and moving book which circles around the life of John Craske (1881-1943), a poor Norfolk fisherman who spent most of his life as an invalid, unable to work and unable to go to the sea. Instead he created art: paintings and embroideries of the coast which he knew so well littered the tiny cottage he shared with his wife Laura. Little is known of Craske's life, and in this book, Julia Blackburn weaves his story with that of other prominent people tangentially connected to Craske, notably poet Valentine Ackland (who took great interest in Craske's work) and her partner, the novelist Sylvia Townsend Warner. There is also a brief interlude discussing Albert Einstein, who spent several weeks in the local area under protection in exile as Hitler began persecuting Jewish intellectuals.

But Threads is also a very personal book - alongside all the above is the story of Blackburn and her ailing husband Herman. It's a beautiful, unusual work of personal non-fiction and biography which is reminiscent of writers like W. G. Sebald, about an artist who deserves more renown than he has, and I loved it. I will certainly be reading more books by Julia Blackburn.