Book news, reviews and recommendations
Annabel Lyon’s Consent has been on my radar for some time thanks to Naomi and Marcie’s coverage of the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, always a prize worth keeping an eye on. Both Naomi’s Consumed by Ink and Marcie’s Buried in Print are excellent blogs to follow if you’re interested in Canadian fiction although not nearly […]
Consent by Annabel Lyon: Who gives permission and who is to blame? Read More »
I was very taken with Nightshift’s premise of an obsessive relationship between two women set against a backdrop of nocturnal London when I spotted it on Twitter and put up my hand for a proof. Kiare Ladner’s debut follows Meggie’s attempt to exorcise Sabine’s influence, two decades after they last saw each other. Their toxic
Nightshift by Kiare Ladner: A disquieting tale of seduction and obsession Read More »
I’d registered the big splash Patricia Lockwood’s memoir Priestdaddy had made back in 2017 but hadn’t got around to reading it. She’s known for her presence on Twitter, something that had passed me by but it was the social media theme that made me put up my hand when her first novel, No One Is
No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood: Living life on your phone Read More »
March’s first batch of paperbacks kicks off with two excellent Irish novels, both of which I’ve read beginning with Naoise Dolan’s Exciting Times. Set in Hong Kong, it explores the supremely dysfunctional relationship between Ava and Julian. Ava is living in a scuzzy Airbnb and working as a EFL teacher when she meets Julian in
Paperbacks to Look Out For in March 2021: Part One Read More »
Lauren Oyler’s Fake Accounts is the first of two novels taking a swipe at social media’s pervasive influence that caught my eye in February’s publishing schedules. I’ll be reviewing the other next week. Set in 2016 with Trump freshly elected, Oyler’s debut follows her unnamed narrator who is shocked to find that her apparently liberal
Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler: Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling… Read More »
Back in March 2016, which seems a very long time ago now for all sorts of reasons, I reviewed Austin Duffy’s debut, This Living and Immortal Thing, ending by saying I was looking forward to his second novel if he found time to write it – he’s an oncologist. As enthusiastic readers of first novels
Ten Days by Austin Duffy: No second novel syndrome here Read More »
The seventeenth century isn’t my usual literary stomping ground but two things attracted me to Lucy Jago’s first novel: the theme of female friendship and a glowing puff from Andrew Miller whose own historical fiction I love. Beginning in 1609, A Net for Small Fishes explores the intimate bond between Frances Howard, the daughter of
A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago: Love knows no bounds Read More »
I’d not heard of Afonso Cruz before Kokoschka’s Doll popped through my letterbox, probably because it’s the first of his novels in translation to be published by a relatively mainstream publisher. He turns out to be a prolific and versatile writer, much acclaimed in his native Portugal. Taking its name from the artist so distraught
Kokoschka’s Doll by Afonso Cruz (transl. Rahul Bery): Stories within stories Read More »
I don’t think a novel’s title alone has convinced me I’d want to read it before but I couldn’t resist that wordplay: Mrs Death Misses Death promised to be clever, funny and all about a subject we privileged Westerners do our best to sanitise with all sorts of euphemisms. Salena Godden’s debut rubs our faces
January seems to be Delphine de Vigan month for me. This time two years ago I reviewed the gripping Based on a True Story with which I was very impressed; last year’s Loyalties not so much. This year it’s Gratitude and I’m back to being a de Vigan fan. This brief of novellas explores ageing
Finding links between novels in the first part of February’s paperback preview was hard enough but it’s even worse with the second, I’m afraid. Best start off with what I’ve already read. Daniel Khelmann’s Tyll was one of my books of last year, an uncharacteristic choice for me but I’m a huge fan of Kehlmann’s
Paperbacks to Look Out for in February 2021: Part Two Read More »