Book news, reviews and recommendations
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
The briefest of posts wishing Diana Athill a very happy 100th birthday. For those not familiar with Athill’s books, she’s a fine editor and writer whose elegantly slim slices of autobiography offer an insider’s view of twentieth-century British publishing: Stet is an excellent place to start. Athill also writes with grace and insight about ageing.
Happy 100th Birthday, Diana Athill! Read More »
This second selection of January paperbacks begins with a title I’m not entirely sure about. In Alison Jean Lester’s Yuki Means Happiness a young woman leaves America for Japan, keen for adventure. She takes a job as a nanny to a two-year-old, immersing herself in the routine of the household and becoming increasingly attached to
Paperbacks to Look Out for in January 2018: Part Two Read More »
This first batch of January paperbacks kicks of with my book of 2017: Jon McGregor’s Reservoir 13 which traces the effects of a young girl’s disappearance from a village in the north of England over the course of thirteen years, one for each of her life. The rhythms of the natural world hum through its
Paperbacks to Look Out for in January 2018: Part One Read More »
My first batch of 2018 titles included a volume of short stories and this second selection is led by another. It seems I really am a reformed character. I’m sure even my if views on the short story hadn’t undergone a transformation I would have been jumping up and down about Jon McGregor’s The Reservoir
Books to Look Out for in January 2018: Part Two Read More »
Round about now at the fag-end of the literary year, I begin to look forward eagerly to what’s coming next. The first batch of goodies kick starting this January is dominated by Australian writers, beginning with a new Peter Carey which is always something worth looking out for. A Long Way from Home is set in
Books to Look Out for in January 2018: Part One Read More »
For anyone wondering if these posts are ever going to end, we’re nearly there. Patrick McGrath’s The Wardrobe Mistress was the highlight of September’s reading for me. Set against the background of East End fascism in 1947, still bubbling away despite the suppression of the Blackshirts, McGrath’s novel explores the anguish of grief through Joan,
Books of the Year 2017: Part Four Read More »