Book news, reviews and recommendations
Back in July I was approached to take part in a Twitter initiative to promote diversity in writing under the hashtag #DiverseAuthorDay. This was, of course, long before the announcement of both this year’s Man Booker shortlist, let alone its gay Jamaican winner. You may have seen a few tweets on September 24th, the elected […]
#DiverseAuthorDay: A reprise Read More »
Sloane Crosley has published two collections of essays including one with the wonderfully peevish title I Was Told There’d be Cake, or at least it sounds peevish to me which may tell you something about how I feel about cake and broken promises. The Clasp is her first novel, a classic comedy of manners in
The Clasp by Sloane Crosley: Growing up is hard to do Read More »
A couple of years ago I read and reviewed Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative. It’s his fourth novel but the first to be published in the UK. The Folly is his debut and entirely different from Double Negative. According to the book’s blurb, when it was published in Vladislavić’s native South Africa back in 1993 it
The Folly by Ivan Vladislavić: An apartheid allegory Read More »
You may have dim memories of this particular literary prize. It’s been in abeyance for several years but has just been relaunched with an announcement of the shortlist for this year’s award. Contenders must be writers of literary fiction, non-fiction or poetry, aged thirty-five and under. Past performance suggests that previous judges have had a
The trouble with marketing is its constant use of superlatives – too much hype. We’re all over familiar with ‘dazzling debuts’, ‘stunning achievements’ and the like so that when a book comes along that is truly original, absolutely dazzling, those descriptions ring hollow. Sara Baume’s Spill Simmer Falter Wither comes into that category for me.
Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume: Spring summer autumn winter Read More »
I’m always a little uncomfortable when I get a review copy from a small publisher. I can’t guarantee that I’ll review it unless I think it’s worth recommending and those books cost money, time and effort to post out. It’s easy shrugging off the likes of Penguin Random House but small presses prick my conscience,
Bit of a thin month on the read (but not reviewed) front thanks to the sheer door-stopping size of one of the two books I finished. Philipp Meyer’s The Son was raved about last year – fulsome tweets were legion and it was a Waterstones Book Club choice, although presumably only for thoroughly committed readers
Books Read (But Not Reviewed) in October 2015 Read More »
Fiction Uncovered was set up in 2011 with the aim of promoting British writing. Last year with the support of a charitable foundation it became the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. It’s an unusual award in that there are eight winners including, this year, Jo Mazelis’s Significance. I’m more than a little late to the party
Significance by Jo Mazelis: A Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize 2015 winner Read More »
Well, this is a first for me – a review of a graphic novel. Back in my early bookselling days I was pretty sniffy about this particular genre which appeared to consist almost entirely of rather lurid fantasy novels: catnip to shoplifters or so it seemed. I’m not sure I sold one in all the
The Inflatable Woman by Rachel Ball: Ways without words Read More »
In contrast to November’s surprising hardback bounty, paperback treats are pretty thin on the ground: just a paltry three, I’m afraid. I’ll start with the one I’ve already reviewed – Helle Helle’s This Should Be Written in the Present Tense which surprised me when it was first published last year with its low-key but strangely
Paperbacks to Look Out For in November 2015 Read More »
Three Jane Smileys in a year seems a little greedy but once started on The Last Hundred Years Trilogy all thoughts of delayed gratification go out of the window. For those who haven’t yet come across the first two, the trilogy tells the sometimes torturous history of the United States through the story of an
Golden Age by Jane Smiley: Or is it? Read More »