Book news, reviews and recommendations
Midge Raymond’s My Last Continent caught my eye when I was busy perusing the July publishing schedules for a preview post. It’s set mainly in Antarctica, a backdrop shared by two other novels that I’d read and thoroughly enjoyed: Favel Parret’s tale of the 1987 Nella Dan disaster, When the Night Comes, and Rebecca Hunt’s […]
My Last Continent by Midge Raymond: Two love stories in one 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 in as many hands as I could. Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy used to be a handy bellwether for me when talking to bookish
Blasts from the Past: The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster (1985-6) Read More »
Although I’ve read several books published by Peirene – including the dazzling poetic White Hunger, set in a savagely cold Finnish winter – this is the first I’ve reviewed. For readers who haven’t yet come across them, Peirene publish novellas in translation, dubbed by the Times Literary Supplement ‘Two-hour books to be devoured in a
Her Father’s Daughter by Marie Sizun (transl. Adriana Hunter): A sharply poignant gem Read More »
I first came across Diana Athill’s elegant prose in Stet, her account of her time at André Deutsch, the publishing house she co-founded in 1951 with her eponymous business partner. Deutsch was a refugee, one of the many who shaped modern British publishing. For readers who haven’t yet come across the book, it’s a treat
Alive, Alive Oh! by Diana Athill: A long life well lived Read More »
Emma Jane Unsworth’s Hungry the Stars and Everything‘s been knocking around my shelves for some time. I’ve heard good things about Animals but I’m afraid the Katie Fforde endorsement on Hungry’s jacket was somewhat off-putting, suggesting it might be a tad fluffy. Well, it’s not. Helen Burns is a restaurant critic with a talent for
Books Read (But Not Reviewed) in July 2016 Read More »
What attracted me to Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s prize-winning novel was its structure. It’s the story of a young man who dies one April afternoon in Stockholm, his car wrecked in a crash which some speculate may have been suicide, others are sure was an accident. Khemiri tells Samuel’s story through a series of interviews with
I’d been looking forward to Jonathan Galassi’s novel, smacking my lips over the idea of a treat not to mention an escape from the ‘hell in a hand cart’ news we seemed to be drowning in. It’s all about the book world and what could be more comforting than that? Paul Dukach, the misfit in
Muse by Jonathan Galassi: Adventures in the publishing world Read More »
Several jewels to look out for in August’s paperback crown, starting with one of the best books I’ve read this year: Merritt Tierce’s debut Love Me Back. It’s the story of Marie who makes her living waiting tables at a classy Dallas steakhouse. Coolly collected, beautifully turned out in her starched bistro apron and meticulously
Paperbacks to Look Out For in August 2016 Read More »
Much lauded by the likes of Peter Carey and Colum McCann, Adam Haslett’s Imagine Me Gone is a nuanced portrait of a family trying to cope with the emotional depredations caused by not one but two of its members grappling with mental illness. It follows the family from its beginnings when Margaret and John meet
Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett: The ties that bind stretched too far Read More »
The Girls is another one of those novels about which there’s been a good deal of brouhaha – lots of Twitter love and advance anticipation for months – but like The Nest and The Essex Serpent, similarly lauded to the skies, it succeeds in living up to all that hype. I’m going to have to
The Girls by Emma Cline: Time for girls to become women Read More »
It’s that time of year again. I had thought I might ignore the whole kit and caboodle this time around but I was prodded into action by an analysis of trends in Man Booker winners subtitled ‘Male and Middle-aged in Third Person’. On that basis mine is a list of no-hopers, or close to it,
My 2016 Man Booker wish list Read More »