Cover image for And Notre Dame is Burning Down

And Notre Dame is Burning by Miriam Robinson: ‘Do you know this man?’

I was in two minds about reading Miriam Robinson’s And Notre Dame is Burning, attracted by the idea of a fragmented, non-linear narrative which I often enjoy but wondering if it might be too ambitious for a debut. Robinson’s novel follows Esther over five years or so in which time seems to flatten for her

And Notre Dame is Burning by Miriam Robinson: ‘Do you know this man?’ Read More »

Cover image for The Place of Shells by Mai Ishizawa

The Place of Shells by Mai Ishizawa (Transl. Polly Barton): Trauma, grief and memory

I’ve often mentioned the power of novellas on this blog, how in the right hands a few pages can convey much more than several hundred. Mai Ishizawa’s prize-winning debut, The Place of Shells, is a fine example of that for me. Set during the pandemic, it’s narrated by an unnamed academic from Tōhoku, whose coastline

The Place of Shells by Mai Ishizawa (Transl. Polly Barton): Trauma, grief and memory Read More »

Cover image for Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn

Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn: A hard legacy

Liadan Ní Chuinn’s debut collection comes garlanded with praise from a fistful of my favourite Irish writers including Wendy Erskine, Louise Kennedy and Lucy Caldwell, all heralding the arrival of a brilliant new talent. Every One Still Here comprises six stories, several quite brief, bookended by two lengthier pieces, all more than worthy of a

Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn: A hard legacy Read More »

My 2025 Booker Wish List

Not my favourite prize but, for some reason, I can’t resist putting together a wish list for the Booker. To be eligible for this year’s prize all books must be published in the UK or Ireland between 1st October 2024 and 30th September 2025 and have been written in English. The judges usually stick to

My 2025 Booker Wish List Read More »

Cover image for The Watermark by Sam Mills

Paperbacks to Look Out For in August 2025: Part One

August’s first batch of paperbacks begins a step or two outside my usual reading territory with Sam Mills’s The Watermark. Trapped in reclusive, once renowned author Augustus Fate’s work-in-progress, Jaime and Rachel are desperately trying to escape. To do so they move from Victorian Oxford to utopian Manchester landing themselves in a Russian winter before

Paperbacks to Look Out For in August 2025: Part One Read More »