Book news, reviews and recommendations
Christine Dwyer Hickey is the kind of author about whom there’s not a great deal of brouhaha – no fanfare of Twitter trumpets heralding her next novel or drip feed of showy publicity – which in some ways is a relief and in others a shame. I’m not sure how many readers are acquainted with […]
The Lives of Women by Christine Dwyer Hickey: An old, old story, and a sad one Read More »
This is my second Mexican novel in just over a month: another slim little number which you might consider gulping down in a few hours but, as with Yuri Herrera’s Signs Preceding the End of the World, you’d be wrong. There’s a great deal to absorb in Valeria Luiselli’s ‘novel-essay’ as she calls it, even
You know how it is when you come back from holiday: those old routines kick in and the lovely little interlude of rest, relaxation and novelty that seemed so vivid begins to feel like a distant memory. Writing a post has become a way of nailing some of those memories before they fade away so
A week in Palma and a book Read More »
Lest you should think I’ve given up my rants about book jackets – it’s quite some time since the last one – I’m going to start this post by pointing you to another review of Judith Claire Mitchell’s novel from Tanya at 52 Books or Bust illustrated with the North American cover. Pop over and
A Reunion of Ghosts by Judith Claire Mitchell: The sins of the fathers… Read More »
It’s time for another issue of the wonderful Shiny New Books, stuffed full of interviews, articles and reviews by some of my favourite bloggers and this ones a celebratory issue: it’s their first birthday. Such a lot of hard work, energy and talent have been poured into this project. It’s been a delight to be
A Place Called Winter and Happy Birthday Shiny New Books Read More »
Quite some years ago now I read Michael Crummey’s The River Thieves while on holiday. Having thoroughly enjoyed it, I eagerly snapped up Galore when it was published but, sadly, was a little underwhelmed – it wasn’t a bad book but lacked the impact of his previous novel, at least for me. The 2011 IMPAC
Sweetland by Michael Crummey: No man is an island Read More »
I’ve had my eyes on Sara Taylor’s beautifully packaged debut for some time now. It’s not just the gorgeous jacket that attracted me, it’s also the novel’s structure: a set of interconnecting stories that span a century and a half in the lives of the inhabitants of three small islands off the coast of Virginia.
The Shore by Sara Taylor: The whole being greater than its parts Read More »
Jill Alexander Essbaum’s debut is one of those books about which there’s been a good deal of eager anticipation in my neck of the Twitter woods. That way disappointment often lies but this twenty-first century take on Emma Bovary turns out to live up to all that’s been tweeted. Although Hausfrau is Essbaum’s first novel
Hausfau by Jill Alexander Essbaum: Emma Bovary, a twenty-first century reprise Read More »
Regular visitors to this blog may have noticed my tendency to bang on about jackets and how they so often do not fit the book in question. It’s long been a bugbear of mine. If the jacket’s eye-catching, attractive and reflects the book’s contents chances are the readers it’s aimed at will pick it up.
The Ladies of the House: A book that perfectly fits its cover Read More »
This is the first novel I’ve read by Karen Campbell. Her last, This is Where I Am, appeared on my radar at some stage but I didn’t get around to reading it for some reason. Rise is one of those novels that occupies the middle ground between literary and commercial fiction for me: polished writing
Rise by Karen Campbell: Drama in the glens Read More »
I wasn’t at all sure about James Hannah’s debut when it arrived. The press release claimed it was for David Nicholls fans of which I have been one since the immensely enjoyable One Day but I’ve been suckered by that kind of comparison before. Having decided to give it a try, I was distracted by
The A-Z of You and Me by James Hannah: A lexicon of love Read More »