Book news, reviews and recommendations
It took me a mere ninety minutes to read Lily Tuck’s Sisters which might lead you to think it’s a slight, inconsequential piece of fiction but that’s far from the case. A sharp psychological study of obsession with a neat sting in its tail, it’s completely riveting. Our unnamed narrator is married to a man […]
Sisters by Lily Tuck: A tale of obsession Read More »
It’s rare for me to feel that I owe it to a writer to read their book but the anonymous North Korean author of The Accusation risked his life to get it published, and continues to do so. Bandi, which translates as firefly, still lives and works in North Korea. Should he be unmasked he
The Accusation by Bandi (transl. Deborah Smith): Please read this book Read More »
I’m not a thriller fan, although I have been known to read one or two. Metafiction on the other hand fascinates me which is what attracted me to Delphine de Vigan’s Based on a True Story whose narrator, Delphine, finds her life entirely taken over by a woman she meets at a party. Hard to
Robin Sloan’s Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore was a 2013 favourite for me. I’ve been waiting patiently for something else from him having been a little disappointed by Mr Penumbra’s prequel, Ajax Penumbra 1969, and was delighted to spot Sourdough on the January horizon. It’s the story of a young woman who is given a sourdough
Sourdough by Robin Sloan: A tasty bit of fun Read More »
There’s nothing like getting your reading year off to a good start. Jim Powell’s Things We Nearly Knew continues 2018’s satisfying trend for me with its slice of American smalltown life seen through the eyes of an unnamed bartender. I’d enjoyed Powell’s second novel, Trading Futures, a couple of years back, admiring its narrator’s waspishly
Things We Nearly Knew by Jim Powell: The enigma of other people Read More »
This collection is an unusual one: it was written for radio rather than print. The BBC commissioned Jon McGregor to write a set of stories that together comprise a prequel to the sublime Reservoir 13 which won the Costa Novel Award earlier this week, much to my delight. Unsurprisingly, given that was my book of
The Reservoir Tapes by Jon McGregor: Podcast in print Read More »
Last year’s reading got off to a very satisfying start with a book by an Australian author – Jennifer Down’s compassionate, clear-sighted and lovely debut, Our Magic Hour. Coincidentally, this year’s has also begun with a beautifully crafted, thoroughly engaging Australian novel. I’d read and enjoyed Michelle de Kretser’s Questions of Travel a few years
The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser: The way we live now 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 into as many hands as I could. Last year Cathy from 746 Books was kind enough to ask me to take part in her Books
Blasts from the Past: That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern (2001) Read More »
You might think I’d had enough of rehashing 2017’s reading what with Reading Bingo and all those books of the year posts but I came across this on Cathy’s blog and couldn’t resist. The rules are simple: answer the questions with the titles of books you read this year. If you decide to play along,
My Life in Books (2017 Edition) Read More »
I first saw this year’s Reading Bingo on Cleo’s blog – she was the one who put me on to it a few years back. Then Marina at Finding Time to Write posted hers and it seemed rude not to join in even if mine is a little tardy. It’s one of those posts which
Reading Bingo 2017 Read More »
Mieko Kawakami is one of Haruki Murakami’s favourite young writers which made her novella hard to resist for me. Ms Ice Sandwich is the latest in a series published by Pushkin Press showcasing Japanese authors. I’ve only got around to reviewing one other– Hiromi Kawakami’s surreal Record of a Night Too Brief – which leaves