‘A New Yorker 'BEST BOOK OF 2024'
Longlisted for the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal For Excellence in Nonfiction
‘Eloquent … Charming … This memoir honors not just the art of carpentry but the passion of labor itself … a call for all of us, whatever we do, to do it with passion and care.’
The New Yorker
‘Robinson’s prose is humorous and macho, taking its lead from the gruff, sensual delivery of food writer Anthony Bourdain… But wood, in all its facets, remains at the heart of his writing. Robinson is poetic about the pageant of ash, beech and pine but also pragmatic.’
Financial Times
‘A book that is covertly a love poem disguised as a father-and-son story, an apprentice’s learning of an exotic craft, a hymn to the eternal mystery of trees, and a tribute to the flat-out joy of gifting. Enchanting.’
Bill Buford, author of HEAT and DIRT
‘Mesmeric’
The Spectator
‘An invitation to reflect on creativity and labor, our relationship to nature, and the things we value most ... It is [Robinson’s] writing—natural, never over-polished, accessible, and finely wrought—that makes his memoir one to savor. In a world obsessed with speed and convenience and the acquisition of the disposable, it’s a true pleasure to read about how one craftsman has worked so patiently, so intentionally, to create objects of beauty that will endure. In writing this book, Robinson has done so again.’
Esquire
‘Honest, original and true – written like a good novel, with that very rare merit of exploring the doubt and criticism necessary for any great art or craft, be it writing or carpentry.’
Lars Mytting, author of Norwegian Wood and The Sister Bells Trilogy
‘A hard-carved woodworking romance written with tenderness and an almost sensual attention to detail. I can smell the resin and the soft, fresh sawdust. I can feel the bite of dense grain beneath the blade. Quite magical.’
Cal Flyn, author of Island of Abandonment
'A beautifully cut and crafted masterpiece inlaid with insight and polished with the pure joy of nature.’
Chris Packham
‘This magnificent debut isn't just an ode to the craft of furniture making, but the art of writing. Robinson's chiselled, elegant prose is the sound of a bright new voice in non-fiction.’
Sophy Roberts, author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia
‘A debut that’s both a paean to the art of woodworking and a memoir about creative endeavours.’
The Observer
Ingrained is out now in UK hardback via Doubleday, in the USA & Canada via Ecco, and in New Zealand and Australia Via Penguin
