Book news, reviews and recommendations
Back in 2014 I fell in love with Charles Lambert’s autobiographical novel, With a Zero at its Heart. Made up of 24 themed chapters, each of which has 10 paragraphs of 120 words, it was a triumph of disciplined structure, much of it beautifully written. Naturally when I heard about his new novel I was […]
I was looking for something a little more straightforward after the literary fireworks of Nicola Barker’s The Cauliflower® which is why I turned to Barney Norris’ debut – that and its Salisbury setting. I live an hour’s train journey from Salisbury with its famous cathedral, mentioned often in Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain,
Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain by Barney Norris: Only connect Read More »
Even if you’ve not already read one of Nicola Barker’s novels you’ll gather from its cover – and perhaps its title – that you’re going to be in for a wacky ride with The Cauliflower®. It’s born of Barker’s fascination with Sri Ramakrishna – an avatar, widely regarded as having played a leading role in reviving
The Cauliflower® by Nicola Barker: A Marmite novel, unsurprisingly Read More »
Just two books read (but not reviewed) worth recommending in April but not for the woebegone reason of March’s sad little tally. This time it was the sheer door-stopping size of Philip Hensher’s The Emperor Waltz which weighs in at a chunky 600+ pages. It’s one of those books that having bought it enthusiastically I
Books Read (But Not Reviewed) in April 2016 Read More »
Two of May’s second batch of paperbacks made it on to my 2015 ‘books of the year’ list, my favourite of which was Belinda McKeon’s Tender which I’d hoped to see on the Bailey’s Prize longlist. Catherine and James meet in Dublin in 1997 and almost instantly click. He’s tactile and outgoing, yet tender-hearted, while
Paperbacks to Look Out For in May 2016: Part 2 Read More »
I try to avoid TripAdvisor – I’ve spent far too much of my life on it – but a quick visit when checking out somewhere to stay seems almost inevitable these days. Admittedly it can be useful and I’m grateful to the reviewers who include practical information but so often the reviews are rants, often
Hotels of North America by Rick Moody: On the road again Read More »
Lots of paperbacks to look forward to in May, most of which I’ve already read and reviewed including several that made it into my 2015 ‘books of the year’ but the jewel in the crown has to be Kent Haruf’s Our Souls at Night. I’ve long been a champion of Haruf’s beautifully pared back, elegant
Paperbacks to Look Out For in May 2016: Part 1 Read More »
Garth Greenwell’s debut is one of those novels about which there was a good deal of brouhaha long before it was published. As regular readers may have noticed that kind of thing tends to bring out the cynic in me but several of the names praising it to the skies are the kind of people
What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell: A tale of obsession and loneliness Read More »
I think I would have done better to have saved Virginia Reeves’ powerful debut for another time. I read it while flu-ridden and alone for a couple of days, unable to get out there and find some company. All of which is by way of saying that this is not the cheeriest of novels. It
Work Like Any Other by Virginia Reeves: Paying for your crimes Read More »
This second batch of May goodies ranges far and wide beginning with Suzanne Joinson’s The Photographer’s Wife which takes us to Jerusalem, already riven with political manoeuvring in 1920. The daughter of a British architect with ambitious plans for the city, eleven-year-old Prue spends her time eavesdropping on the conversational machinations of the adults around
Books to Look Out For in May 2016: Part 2 Read More »
I’m not a thriller kind of gal – well only the televised kind, usually with a Scandiland backdrop – but the setting of Annemarie Neary’s debut and the fact that I was still hauling myself out of my flu-induced reading slump before going on holiday made me reach for it. It’s the story of Róisín,
Siren by Annemarie Neary: The past is a foreign country Read More »