Book news, reviews and recommendations
If you’re a frequenter of my neck of the Twitter woods, I’d be surprised if you’d not come across Sarah Perry’s third novel well before it was published. Her publishers have been trailing it for months, ramping up an anticipation that was already well primed for many of us who enjoyed both her debut, After […]
Melmoth by Sarah Perry: A proper piece of Gothic for our times Read More »
I’ve been a keen fan of Patrick deWitt’s fiction since reading his darkly comic ripping yarn, The Sisters Brothers. His last novel, Undermajordomo Minor, was entirely different having more than a touch of the Gothic fairy tale about it. French Exit takes yet another turn with its caustic caricature of the wealthy upper classes, taking
French Exit by Patrick deWitt: Squewering the rich 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. I know I bang on a lot about book jackets but I can’t talk about A Fine Balance
Blasts from the Past: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (1995) Read More »
Regular readers may already have noticed that I’m a fan of Sarah Moss’ writing – Names for the Sea, Bodies of Light, Signs for Lost Children and The Tidal Zone have all been given an outing here – and with Ghost Wall, it seems she’s surpassed herself. A mere 150 pages long, this novella is
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss: The Man Booker wish that got away Read More »
After our long railway jaunt around central Europe earlier in the year H and I both fancied settling in one place for a week. Despite having spent three enjoyable holidays in North Norfolk in four years, we’d not been back in almost a decade: a return visit seemed ideal. We set off on one of
Seven Days in North Norfolk and Half a Book Read More »
Back from the blustery North Norfolk coast – more of which in a few days – with a look ahead at a few October paperbacks that have caught my eye, two of which I’ve yet to read beginning with Ali Smith’s Winter. I still haven’t got around to Autumn although it’s on my horizon, sitting
Paperbacks to Look Out for in October 2018 Read More »
Nihad Sirees is Syrian which is what attracted me to States of Passion with its promise of a glimpse into the world of old Aleppo. Poor Syria is less often in the headlines these days despite her destruction grinding on relentlessly. First published in 1998, Sirees’ novel spins a tale of love, passion and jealousy
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees (transl. Max Weiss): A tale of old Aleppo Read More »
Keen readers of translated fiction will recognise Olga Tokarczuk as the winner of this year’s Man Booker International Prize but it was Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’s backdrop that attracted me to it. It’s set in southwest Poland, not too far from WrocƗaw where H and I spent a few days
October’s the month in which the big literary guns are rolled out in the battle for our Christmas present lists although the publicity campaign for Sarah Perry’s Melmoth has already been in full swing for months. Helen Franklin is hiding from an unforgivable act she committed twenty years ago. Her sheltered life is threatened by
Books to Look Out for in October 2018 Read More »
Regular readers will know that I’m an ardent Kate Atkinson fan, always keen to put her novels at the front of any queue for literary prizes although more often than not left discombobulated by the judges’ seeming determination not to hand them over. Perhaps Transcription will buck that trend although it was conspicuous by its
Transcription by Kate Atkinson: ‘Can I Tempt You?’ Read More »
I was a little wary of Gail Jones’ new novel, having been somewhat disappointed by A Guide to Berlin a few years back. All the poetic elegance of Sorry and Sixty Lights was present and correct but it felt a bit strained to me. The Death of Noah Glass flows much more smoothly. When the
The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones: Love, death and art Read More »