Book news, reviews and recommendations
Not my favourite prize – sadly one of those bit the dust earlier this year when Costa withdrew their sponsorship – but I can’t resist posting some wishes for the Booker longlist, keen to give some more neglected titles an airing even though they’re unlikely to make the judges’ grade. To be eligible for the […]
My 2022 Booker Wish List Read More »
There’s a nicely varied bunch of paperbacks to look forward to in August kicking off with Beatrice Hitchman’s All of You Every Single One. Set in Vienna, it spans over three decades from 1910 to 1946, telling the story of two same sex couples who become each other’s family against a background of tumultuous change
Paperbacks to Look Out For in August 2022: Part One Read More »
The blurb for Swedish writer Johanna Hedman’s The Trio put me in mind a little of Liza Klaussmann’s slightly disappointing This is Gonna End in Tears which I reviewed last week. Both feature a group of close friends revisited later in life, which is what attracted me, but that’s where the similarity ends. As you’ll
The Trio by Johanna Hedman (transl. Kira Josefsson): If you like Sally Rooney… Read More »
Obviously, I couldn’t resist Bea Setton’s Berlin despite reading both Frieidrichstrasse 19 and Marzhan, Mon Amour in quick succession earlier in the year, also set in one of my favourite European cities. Setton’s debut is very different from the others which tell the story of two neighbourhoods through the people who live in them. This
Berlin by Bea Setton: The art of self-sabotage Read More »
The second part of August’s preview begins with a sure fire winner for me: Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island which I read as soon as I could get my hands on a copy. Unfolding in short, snapshot chapters, it follows four generations of women in one unconventional household, all devoted to each other
Books to Look Out For in August 2022: Part Two Read More »
I tend not to be lured by the onslaught of summer reading that hits bookshops around June or so but there’s usually one novel aimed squarely at that market I hope will hit the spot. Last year’s was The Paper Palace which turned out to be much darker than I expected. This year’s is Liza
Although I’ve long since been converted to reading short story collections, I still prefer the linked variety. There’s something appealing about spotting characters from previous pieces, particularly in a small town setting, which is what attracted me to Cathy Thomas’ Islanders set on Guernsey. Comprising twelve stories set over two decades beginning in 2000, it
Islanders by Cathy Thomas: Small world Read More »
More new titles caught my eye than usual for this August, enough for a two-part preview beginning with one I put up my hand for as soon as I read the blurb. The premise for Hernan Diaz’s Trust is intriguing. Benjamin and Helen Rask are immensely wealthy. She’s the daughter of old money, he’s a
Books to Look Out For in August 2022: Part One Read More »
Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six others to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the titles on the list,
Six Degrees of Separation – From Wintering to Winter Read More »
It’s some time since I’ve read anything from Fitzcarraldo who divide their list into white covers for non-fiction and a gorgeous cobalt blue for fiction. Mexican author Guadalupe Nettel’s fourth novel, Still Born, caught my eye with its theme of motherhood as a choice. It follows two friends – both in their mid-thirties, both intensely
Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel (transl. Rosalind Harvey): The many forms of mothering Read More »
It was the theme of female friendship that drew me to Canadian author Laurie Petrou’s Stargazer. I was slightly dismayed to discover that it was published under a crime imprint but while there is a crime Petrou’s novel is a world away from the kind of police procedural I’m happy to watch on TV. Set
Stargazer by Laurie Petrou: ’There were so many ways a story could go’ Read More »