Book news, reviews and recommendations
A few years ago Random House began publishing novellas under the Hammer imprint. They’re all either horror or ghost stories – hardly a surprise given the connotations of the name – but what is surprising are some of the authors they’ve commissioned to write for them. I’ve already read Helen Dunmore’s The Greatcoat, a subtle, […]
Touched by Joanna Briscoe: A Touch of the Horrors Read More »
There’s always a niggling worry that a second novel won’t quite live up to a debut as impressive as Harriet Lane’s chilling Alys, Always but I’m pleased to say that Her doesn’t disappoint. It’s a one-sitting, riveting read: a dual narrative as cleverly controlled as a Maggie O’Farrell – queen of that particular form –
Her by Harriet Lane: A very fine psychological thriller Read More »
No matter how much you love your home it’s hard coming back from holiday – there’s the laundry mountain to contend with, the overflowing email inbox to wade through and the cold shoulder treatment from a cat grown accustomed to the constant adulation of an adoring nine-year-old. All of this was made very much easier
Very Inspiring Blogger Award Read More »
I’d love to board a train at my local station and travel all the way to the Dolomites by rail but that would entail a good deal of time, organisation and probably money so we did the next best thing and flew from our local airport to Munich where we spent our first evening having
Walking in the Dolomites, the pleasures of the pudding buffet and a few books Read More »
Reading fiction in translation offers us a glimpse into different worlds, cultures that we can never experience ourselves no matter how sophisticated modern travel has become. That’s exactly what Elvira Dones’s Sworn Virgin does, taking us to the mountains of Northern Albania where the clan system is deeply embedded, blood feuds confine families to their
Sworn Virgin by Elivira Dones (transl. Clarissa Botsford) Read More »
Along with Harriet Lane’s Her which I’ll be reviewing in a few weeks, this is the book I had been most looking forward to in the June publishing schedules. It’s not entirely true, although that wouldn’t trip of the tongue as a title, but it is splendid. Michelle Lovric has transplanted the story of the
At first glance The Vacationers didn’t appeal – beach reads aren’t my kind of thing – but it’s published by Picador (one of my favourite imprints), Then, Naomi at The Writes of Women tweeted approvingly about it and annethology also seemed keen so I quit prevaricating and started reading. It seems they were right: Emma
The Vacationers by Emma Straub: An intelligent beach read Read More »
There was a great deal of marketing hoo-ha around Nick Harkaway’s first novel which always makes me wary, so much so that I avoided it but when Angelmaker was published so many readers whose opinions I respect jumped up and down proclaiming it a masterpiece that I though I’d better take a dekko. It’s a
Tigerman by Nick Harkaway: A thriller with a sense of humour and a heart of gold Read More »
Time was when September and October were the big publishing months – part of the pre-Christmas fanfare – but I’ve noticed over the past four or five years that several big names have spilled over into other months. There are two in my pick of the August bunch that fall into that category kicking off
Books to Look Out For in August 2014 Read More »
There’s been a great deal of buzz about this book, stretching as far back as the beginning of the year I seem to remember. I always think about the author when that happens. Such a whipping up of anticipation must feel like a great deal of pressure, particularly when you’re a young writer and it’s
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey: Leavened with some much needed humour Read More »
My Salinger Year is Joanna Rakoff’s account of her first job after completing her post-grad studies in London, a year spent working for J. D. Salinger’s literary agent. It’s 1996 and on her first day she wonders where her computer is only to be presented with an electric typewriter then put to work typing up
My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff: A book to cherish Read More »