Cover image for The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck

The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck: ‘The second half of the couplet often completes the sentence or sentiment of the first’

That subtitle sums up the structure of Ben Shattuck’s beautifully constructed The History of Sound comprising twelve stories, each with a companion piece. That alone would have made me want to read it but the promise of a film adaptation starring Paul Mescal was an added spur; shallow as that might seem, he’s a such […]

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Cover image for Time of the Child by Niall Williams

Time of the Child by Niall Williams: A Christmas tale

Five years ago, I reviewed Niall Williams’s This is Happiness which I very much enjoyed despite his somewhat florid writing style, very different from my preferred pared-back prose. A pleasing coming-of-age story, Williams’s novel was set in the rain-soaked coastal community of Faha, on the cusp of entering the modern world as the village welcomes

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Cover image for That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz by Malachy Tallack

That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz by Malachy Tallack: Never too late to change

I’d not come across Malachy Tallack before his second novel, That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz, popped up on NetGalley. Tallack’s a singer-songwriter as well as an established writer of books about his beloved Shetland. The blurb promised a story about a man who has spent almost his entire life in one place who finds unexpected friendship

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