Book news, reviews and recommendations
It’s taken me a little while to get around to Ayelet Waldman’s novel, despite the fact that it comes garlanded with praise from the likes of Michael Ondaatje and Joyce Carol Oates – where does she find the time to read other people’s books given her own astonishingly prolific output. Once I’d picked it up […]
Love and Treasure by Ayelet Waldman: Does what it says on the cover, and more Read More »
If you fancy a good old-fashioned piece of storytelling with beauty, the beast, freaks of nature, love stories, redemption and a faithful, loving pit bull who doesn’t know how to fight I have just the book for you. Alice Hoffman’s new novel has all this plus a hefty helping of suspense. What’s not to like?
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman: A rattling good yarn Read More »
Here’s my pick of the bunch from the July publishers’ schedules, three of them by authors I’ve read before so I’ll start with those. Kerry Hudson’s Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma (brave title for a first novel) was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and was very
Books to look out for in July 2014 Read More »
I’ve a weakness for Irish writers many of whom seem to specialise in spare, almost terse yet elegant prose from which the occasional lyrical gem shines out. Colm Tóibín, John McGahern and William Trevor – whose The Story of Lucy Gault is one of the saddest books I’ve ever read – are amongst my favourite
Black Lake by Johanna Lane: A sad story, quietly told Read More »
Right from the start of Robin Black’s powerful first novel we know that Owen, our narrator’s husband, is dead and that it was not a natural death. Refugees from urban life thanks to an unexpected inheritance, Gus and Owen live in an isolated farmhouse in which she paints and he writes, or tries to. Owen
Life Drawing by Robin Black: A study in relationships Read More »
H and I don’t entirely share the same taste in fiction – he enjoys crime but I prefer mine on TV; he’s a great fan of translated fiction and I know I should read more. Despite that, I like to pass the books I’ve most enjoyed on to him and often he’s delighted. The problem
Do you need a happy ending? Read More »
I was attracted to TaraShea Nesbit’s debut as much for its location as for its subject. My attention’s snagged by anything set against the stunning landscape of the American South West – recommendations gratefully received. It looked like a handy antidote to Richard Powers’ cerebral Orfeo but turned out to be very much more than
The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit: An accomplished, unconventional first novel Read More »
This is the third novel I’ve read by Richard Powers – The Echo Maker and Generosity were the first two. Both deal with complex issues in erudite, meticulously crafted prose: The Echo Maker looks at identity and neurology through the plight of Mark Schluter who suffers from Capgras syndrome – an inability to recognise the
Orfeo by Richard Powers: A journey through a very modern underworld Read More »
Look very closely at the picture on the left and you can see why I might have been swayed to rent this apartment for our hols in Madrid. Not just a book lover, I thought, but one with taste – that’s Elizabeth Strout’s The Burgess Boys thoughtfully placed next to the bed. It was sitting
Five days in Madrid and the case of the mutilated book Read More »
This is a book I’ve been looking forward to for some time. Novels are so often described as epics – it’s come to be a wearisome cliché – but it was a perfect fit for Burnt Shadows, Kamila Shamsie’s last novel which followed twenty-one-year-old Hiroko Tanaka from the immediate aftermath of Nagasaki in 1945 to
A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie: A story of war, love and empire Read More »
I was both delighted and flattered to be nominated by Anne at annethology for a Liebster Award alongside nine other bloggers, all of whose blogs look very interesting. The nomination acts like a chain letter introducing readers to blogs they might not otherwise find. As a past nominee it was Anne’s turn to put ten
My Liebster nomination answers to annethology’s questions Read More »