Book news, reviews and recommendations
It was its structure that attracted me to Miranda Popkey’s Topics of Conversation. That and its cover image of two women alongside each other rather than face to face intrigued me. Popkey’s debut tells the story of an unnamed woman through the conversations she has with other women at various points in her life beginning […]
Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey: ‘Conversation is flirtation’ Read More »
I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, although in a good way, introducing yet another preview as full to bursting with potential goodies beginning with Anne Tyler’s Redhead By the Side of the Road billed as ‘an offbeat love story’. Micah sounds a bit of an eccentric. Odd yet fondly regarded by family and
Books to Look Out For in April 2020: Part One Read More »
I have fond memories of reading Carol Anshaw’s Carry the One way back in 2012 when it was published here in the UK so was keen to get my hands on her new novel, Right After the Weather. Set in Anshaw’s home town of Chicago in the months before and after the 2016 election, it
Right After the Weather by Carol Anshaw: If you like Elizabeth Strout… Read More »
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of my favourite UK literary award, The Women’s Prize for Fiction. I still remember being excited at the prospect of this prize when it was first announced and my delight when Helen Dunmore’s A Spell in Winter was the inaugural winner of what was then called the Orange Prize.
My Wishlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020 Read More »
I’ve read three of the books featured in the second part of March’s paperback preview, beginning with a novel by an author I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time. Benjamin Myers’ The Offing sees an old man remembering the summer after the Second World War when he tramped out of the pit village
Paperbacks to Look Out For in March 2020: Part Two Read More »
Australian writer Favel Parrett’s beautifully expressed When the Night Come made quite an impression on me when it was published in the UK back in 2014. It was its Antarctica setting that first attracted me but it was Parrett’s gorgeous writing that left me wanting more. It’s clear from its dedication that There Was Still
There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett: A poignant tribute Read More »
Maybe it’s just coincidence or maybe it’s a trend but this is the third novel set in a boarding school I’ve read in as many months: both Scarlett Thomas’ Oligarchy and Magda Szabó’s Abigail share the backdrop of a girls’ school although the latter was originally published over fifty years ago. Rachel Donohue’s debut explores
The Temple House Vanishing by Rachel Donohue: Hothouse love Read More »
March looks like another great month for paperbacks which will either please you or make you groan at the prospect or yet more additions to the TBR, or perhaps both. I’m beginning with a book many of you may well have already read but I’ve yet to do so. Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other surprised
Paperbacks to Look Out For in March 2020: Part One Read More »
If you’re a reader who prefers a neat plot within a linear, well-defined narrative best steer clear of Jenny Offill’s new novel. If, like me, you’re a fan of Dept. of Speculation and have been hoping for a little while to see Offill’s name pop up in the publishing schedules, you’re in for a treat.
Weather by Jenny Offill: A novel for our times Read More »
I often look for a theme on which to hang these posts and seldom manage to find one but this is one of those rare occasions. All the titles that have caught my eye for this second March instalment seem to be about women, marriage and relationships, or both beginning with Jami Attenberg’s All This
Books to Look Out For in March 2020: Part Two Read More »
I’ve read all of Daniel Kehlmann’s translated novels, each very different from the others but all witty and smart. His last book, You Should Have Left, was a short, gothic number, both chilling and riveting. In comparison Tyll is a lengthy, historical novel set against the backdrop of the Thirty Years War which raged across
Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann (transl. Ross Benjamin): Telling truth to power Read More »