Book news, reviews and recommendations
There was talk of ‘clean, precise prose’ in the press release for The House Next to the Factory, a description that always snags my attention particularly when it comes from Carys Davies whose own style could be described that way. Sonal Kohli’s debut is a set of nine closely interlinked short stories that portray the […]
The House Next to the Factory by Sonal Kohli: Painting India on a small canvas Read More »
Having enjoyed Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s A Hundred Million Years and a Day, I was keen to read Devils and Saints, hoping for more striking, cinematic writing. Andrea’s latest novel reminded me a little of Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, partly because it explores similar themes, partly because it seemed to me to fit the Christmas
Unusually for me, I’ve read just two of the second batch of January paperbacks. I put up my hand for Neel Patel’s Tell Me How to Be in response to the heartfelt, very personal enthusiasm of its editor. There’s such a difference between that and the hype that so often puts me off. Patel’s debut
Paperbacks to Look Out For in January 2023: Part Two Read More »
A few of my 2022 favourites are published in paperback in January the first of which is Lee Cole’s quietly accomplished Groundskeeping which follows Owen who’s working as a groundskeeper in order to pay for his writing course. At a college party he meets Alma, the writer in residence, younger than him but with a
Paperbacks to Look Out For in January 2023: Part One Read More »
The second instalment of January fiction is all about and written by women beginning with a novel set in a world which tends to be dominated by men. Based on interviews with a female horse trainer, Kathryn Scanlan’s Kick the Latch follows one woman’s career while exploring all aspects of life at the racetrack, from
Books to Look Out For in January 2023: Part Two Read More »
We’re on the last lap, you’ll be pleased to hear, with a surprising number of gems in November, an indication of the way the publishing year has shifted since so many sales migrated online. I remember when October was the big publishing month. That month’s only stand out title for me was Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy
Books of the Year 2022: Part Four Read More »
July was spent alternately taking refuge from our builders, lovely as they are, and the heat which seemed to go on forever. Having the sort of skin that needs dousing in factor 50, I spent less time outdoors than I’d planned. You might expect lots of July favourites, then, but just one stood out for
Books of the Year 2022: Part Three Read More »
At the beginning of April, H and I took ourselves off to Manchester, a city I’d not visited since the ‘80s. Unsurprisingly, it’s changed considerably since then. We had a great time exploring and meeting up with two dear friends with not much time for reading. Plenty of that when we got back, beginning with
Books of the Year 2022: Part Two Read More »
This year continued the move back towards normality for me. H and I finally managed to take both the holidays abroad we’d booked for 2020 and there was much more socialising and getting out and about. We’re going to the cinema again (easy to lose touch when you don’t see the trailers) but I’ve realised
Books of the Year 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 – The Snow Child to Weasels in the Attic Read More »
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Olivia Wenzel’s 1,000 Coils of Fear. Wenzel is a mixed-race German who grew up in the old East, a dramatist, musician and performer who’s turned her hand to fiction. Her debut draws heavily on her own life following an unnamed narrator whose mother was an East German punk
1,000 Coils of Fear by Olivia Wenzel (transl. Priscilla Layne): ‘Where do you belong?’ Read More »