Book news, reviews and recommendations
I’m beginning the first all-American instalment of August’s two-parter paperback preview with a book that was a standout for me in 2019. Bryan Washington’s Lot comes billed as a collection of short stories – some snapshots, others much longer – but for me it read like a fragmentary novella. Through it runs the story of …
Paperbacks to Look Out for in August 2020: Part One Read More »
It was Cathy at 746 Books who first alerted me to Susannah Dickey’s debut. Cathy’s reliably impeccable taste meant Tennis Lessons went straight on my ever lengthening wishlist. Dickey’s also a poet, giving me another reason to read it. Poets so often write good fiction. From the blurb, I thought it would be a straightforward, …
Tennis Lessons by Susannah Dickey: Growing pains Read More »
I’m a sucker for covers that fit their books well. When I spotted Anbara Salam’s Belladonna on Twitter, it was that strikingly evocative jacket that snagged my interest although I was concerned it might be a wee bit fluffy. While it’s certainly an easy read, fluffy’s not the word for this coming-of-age novel, set in …
Belladonna by Anbara Salam: ‘Sometimes love isn’t enough’ Read More »
The first batch of August’s new titles began with a book by a favourite author of mine as does this second, although I got off to a slow start with his writing. After being a wee bit underwhelmed by Donal Ryan’s The Thing About December, I loved From a Low and Quiet Sea and All …
I read Mary McCarthy’s The Group many years ago as a teenager when it was already acclaimed as a classic. In it eight women who met as students in the ‘30s form the titular group whose intimate lives and friendship the novel follows. Not my generation at all, but I was spellbound by it and …
The Group by Lara Feigel: A twentieth-century classic reprised Read More »
I know very few women scientists. Well to be honest, just two and one of those is a virtual friend met through blogging. Being pigeonholed as an arts person early on no doubt contributed to that but the fact is there are still far more male scientists than women. Arlene Heyman’s debut novel, Artifact, follows …
Artifact by Arlene Heyman: ‘Too smart for a girl’ Read More »
Publishing schedules are beginning to look much more tempting now that the worst of the pandemic-related slippage has worked its way through, at least let’s hope so. I like to kick off proceedings with a title that made my heart sing when I spotted it and this time it’s Sarah Moss’ Summerwater. From Names for …
Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six others to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the titles on the list, …
Six Degrees of Separation – From What I Loved to A Life of My Own Read More »
Towards the end of 2018 I was sent a review copy of a book that I wasn’t at all sure about. It looked a little too wacky for my taste but the publisher was a favourite of mine so I decided to give it a go. Not only did Robbie Arnott’s Flames end up on …
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott: Dystopia, hope and redemption Read More »
Amanda Craig’s The Golden Rule is the latest in a series of loosely interconnected novels which explore the state of my particular nation. I’m a sucker for this kind of fiction and have enjoyed several of Craig’s contributions to it including The Lie of the Land, a Brexit novel that, for me, was very much …
The Golden Rule by Amanda Craig: ‘Do as you would be done by’ Read More »
This second instalment of July paperbacks is a bit of a mixed bunch, two of which I’ve already read although I’ll begin with one that I haven’t. Anne Catherine Bomann’s Agatha sees a 71-year-old psychiatrist with no family or friends eagerly anticipating retirement when a young German woman walks into his clinic and demands an …
Paperbacks to Look Out For in July 2020: Part Two Read More »