Book news, reviews and recommendations
James Roseman’s Placeholders is the fourth novel I’ve read published by Verve Books, a comparatively new imprint, all of them good if not excellent. If you’re interested the others are Sunburn, How Can I Help You and Blue Hour, my favourite and an unfulfilled wish on my Booker Prize list. Roseman’s novel follows Aaron and […]
Placeholders by James Roseman: Crossing the cultural divide Read More »
This is my second post on small town American novels, a setting I find almost as irresistible as New York, and not one I’m likely to tire of anytime soon. Below are five more favourites, all with links to reviews on this blog. Sue Miller’s The Arsonist is set in the New Hampshire town of
Five More Small Town American Novels Read More »
I’ve not read Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind or watched the Netflix movie but I do remember it being much admired predisposing me to read Entitlement when it popped through my letter box. Alam’s new novel follows a young black woman as she navigates the world of the super-rich in her new job working
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam: ‘Money, money, money’ Read More »
I was thrilled when I spotted a new Lissa Evans on social media, knowing that not only would I be in for a treat but that it would be a cheery one. I wondered if Small Bomb at Dimperley might follow the characters I’d become so fond of in V for Victory and Old Baggage
Much of my reading can be described as contemporary fiction but I sometimes stick my toe in the historical fiction water. I was convinced that was a rare occurrence but, apparently, I’ve read enough to put together several of these posts spread across different centuries. I should start off in the twentieth century but that
Five Novels Set in the Nineteenth Century I’ve Read Read More »
As regular readers will know, I’m a keen Elizabeth Strout fan. I’ve been reading her fiction since Amy and Isabelle was first published in the UK, over twenty years ago now, and have enjoyed every one of her novels. Occasionally, there’s a tinge of disappointment but a slightly disappointing Strout is very much better than
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout: When Olive met Lucy Read More »
I jumped at the chance to read Christine Dwyer Hickey’s Our London Lives, getting stuck in as soon as it dropped through my letterbox. Hickey writes beautifully crafted thoughtful novels, often from the perspective of women. The Narrow Land, her last one, told the story of Edward Hopper’s marriage from his wife’s point-of-view while The
Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey: A love story Read More »
A disappointing October paperback preview, just enough to fill one post beginning with the latest from an author whose previous novel was a surprise hit for me. I enjoyed Hiroko Oyamada’s Weasels in the Attic ending my review saying that I was keen to explore more of her writing. Originally published in Japan in 2013,
Paperbacks to Look Out For in October 2024 Read More »
It’s become something of a tradition for Barack Obama to issue his summer reading list. It seems to have been extended to an end of year favourites now, too. I bet publishers’ hearts sing with joy if one of their titles appears on either, the next best thing to an Oprah recommendation. I won’t lie,
Our June holiday in The Hague started well but became a bit of a nightmare when H and I both went down with a nasty bout of covid, overshadowing much of the summer. We decided a short, easy break in Lyme Regis would finish off our recuperation. Things didn’t get off to a brilliant start
Three days in and Around Lyme Regis and Just One Book Read More »
Back from a short break in Lyme Regis (more of which later in the week) with a second batch of October fiction which begins with a novel that didn’t quite fulfil my hopes. Set in the rain-soaked coastal community of Faha in December 1962, Time of the Child is a sequel of sorts to This
Books to Look Out For in October 2024: Part Two Read More »