Book news, reviews and recommendations
I reviewed The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman here three years ago. It often pops up in my top posts which pleases me no end. It’s a little gem: funny, endearing and sufficiently wacky to steer itself well clear of the twee. I ended the review by mentioning that there was a second volume […]
The Postman’s Fiancée by Denis Thériault (transl. John Cullen): Bilodo redux Read More »
I’ve been looking forward to this novel since I first came across it in Canongate’s catalogue. Some of you may have already heard of Matthew Weiner, or you may know his writing from Mad Men or The Sopranos but not his name. As is so often the case, it’s the starry actors’ names that stay
Heather, The Totality by Matthew Weiner: Delivers on its promise Read More »
Given that I nicked this idea from Kim, an Australian who blogs at Reading Matters, it seems only fair to round up five Australian books I’ve read. Below are five novels from that part of the world I’ve particularly enjoyed, all but one with links to a review on this blog. David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon
Five Australian Novels I’ve Read Read More »
Always a delight to open a new William Boyd and find it dedicated ‘To Susan’. Nothing to do with me, obviously, but still… Short stories are almost as welcome as a novel for me these days particularly when two of them are pleasingly lengthy. Boyd’s collection also includes seven much shorter stories but, perhaps inevitably
The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth by William Boyd: A satisfying snack Read More »
First published in Holland in 1947, Gerard Reve’s novel has been ranked by the Society of Dutch Authors as the Netherlands’ best novel of all time – quite a billing to live up to. It was much praised when published in the UK in hardback last year, popping up on all manner of publications’ books
The Evenings by Gerard Reve (transl. Sam Garrett): Ennui in post-war Amsterdam Read More »
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could. When I was in bookselling I knew that if a rep showed me a book on the Franklin
Blasts from the Past: The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett (1998) Read More »
The theme of adults manipulating children isn’t an unusual one in fiction – Atonement and The Go-Between are obvious examples – but the setting of Tony Peake’s new novel stood out for me. In it a man in his sixties has returned to South Africa where he was at boarding school, remembering the events which
North Facing by Tony Peake: A South African atonement Read More »
Matthew Smith’s The Waking is published by Wundor Editions who are a mere one year old and have a tiny list. This is the kind of combination that has me reaching for the ‘no thank you’ button – accepting review copies then finding you don’t like them from the conglomerates is one thing, agreeing to
The Waking by Matthew Smith: Questions, questions… Read More »
As ever, there’s very little in the way of new titles to trouble your credit card with in December. Probably a relief given the wear and tear of Christmas shopping. Elisa Lodato’s An Unremarkable Body sounds intriguing, though. It’s about a daughter’s attempts to understand her mother’s life after she’s found dead at the foot
Books to Look Out for in December 2017 Read More »
I seem to have been on a bit of a Oneworld roll recently: first They Know Not What They Do – not without its faults but worth reading – then The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao, which looks set fair to be one of my books of 2017, and now Durian Sukegawa’s Sweet Bean Paste.
A friend recommended this book to me and another lent me a copy. Hopes were high, then, if a little nervously so. There’s always the possibility of that awkward moment when you both realise that you’ll have to agree to disagree. C’s a proofreader which is how she first came by Martha Batalha’s novel. She’s