Book news, reviews and recommendations
Douglas Bruton’s With or Without Angels and Hope Never Knew Horizon both made it on to my books of the year list. He writes about art, creativity and love in an original, engagingly imaginative way. Even before reading Woman in Blue I was pretty sure it would be landing alongside this year’s favourites. As many […]
Woman in Blue by Douglas Bruton: ‘He loves me, he loves me not’ Read More »
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could. I might well not have read Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White which weighs in at
Blasts from the Past: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber (2002) Read More »
This is the fourth novel by Robert Seethaler I’ve reviewed on here. The first was A Whole Life which sees a man lead a simple yet rich life, leaving his alpine valley just once. After that I snapped up both The Tobacconist and The Field as soon as they appeared. All offer a slice of
Ireland seems to be home to a limitless supply of writing talent. Knowing that an author is Irish is usually enough to persuade me to read their book whatever it’s about. Garrett Carr’s adult fiction debut, The Boy from the Sea, was helped along by a resounding endorsement from Louise Kennedy whose Trespasses was one
I was surprised to spot a novella-length book by Anne Tyler on NetGalley. It seemed like a new departure for her or perhaps I’ve missed a previous piece of her short fiction. Three Days in June follows Gail whose daughter is about to be married, beginning with the wedding rehearsal day. Boundaries; that was his
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler: ‘Another chance to get it right’ Read More »
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could. Canadian poet Marilyn Bowering’s Visible Worlds didn’t get much in the way of UK review coverage as I
Blasts from the Past: Visible Worlds by Marilyn Bowering (1998) Read More »
I can’t resist an art theme as regular readers of this blog will know and Lucy Steeds’s debut The Artist sounded particularly intriguing. Set in Provence over the summer of 1920, it begins and ends in 1957 with a woman gazing at a painting she knows intimately in London’s National Gallery. No. Ettie knows better
The Artist by Lucy Steeds: ‘I want you to see me’ Read More »
Despite its door-stopping proportions I couldn’t resist Catherine Airey’s much trumpeted debut with its promise of an involving tale of two Irish sisters, one of whom emigrates to New York to take up an art school scholarship ticking two of my literary boxes. Máire and Rósín’s stories span decades beginning in the 1970s when they’re
Confessions by Catherine Airey: Choose your own adventure Read More »
I remember Clare Sestanovich’s short story collection, Objects of Desire, being much praised when it was published which is what made me want to read her first novel, Ask Me Again. It begins with sixteen-year-old Eva meeting James in a Brooklyn hospital waiting room where her parents are anxiously sitting at her comatose grandmother’s bedside,
Ask Me Again by Clare Sestanovich: More questions than answers Read More »
The premise of Elizabeth Harris’s How to Sleep at Night was catnip for me. Happily married and bringing up their daughter, Ethan and Gabe find themselves at opposite ends of the political spectrum. When Ethan announces he wants to run for Congress on a Republican ticket, he tells Gabe that he will only do it
How to Sleep at Night by Elizabeth Harris: A step too far? Read More »
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could. Regular readers of this blog will have noticed that I tend to shy away from fluffy novels, often heading
Blasts from the Past: The Republic of Love by Carol Shields (1992) Read More »