Cover image for Bird Life by Anna Smail

Bird Life by Anna Smaill: A beautiful novel of madness and grief

I remember choosing not to read New Zealand writer Anna Smaill’s Man Booker longlisted debut The Chimes thinking it sounded a little too fantastical for me, although I may well overcome that objection having read her new novel, Bird Life. Set in Tokyo, it’s the story of two women, both suffering terrible loss, each seeing …

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Cover image for The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada

The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada (transl. David Boyd): Busy doing nothing

I enjoyed Hiroko Oyamada’s Weasels in the Attic this time last year, ending my review saying that I was keen to explore more of her writing. Originally published in Japan in 2013, The Factory is set in the world of work. Despite the increasingly surreal thread which runs through the novella, it struck a chord …

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Cover image for Family Meal by Bryan Washington

Family Meal by Bryan Washington: ‘Love is a tangible thing’  

I loved Bryan Washington’s Lot and Memorial, both written with empathy and a wonderful fluency which made Family Meal a dead cert for me. While Lot was particularly striking in its evocation of Houston, Memorial’s loving descriptions of food and cooking stood out vividly. Unsurprisingly, there’s more of that in Family Meal which sees Cam …

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