Book news, reviews and recommendations
I’ve long felt uneasy about the relationship between celebrities and the public, not least the way the media refers to them by their first name as if we know them intimately. It’s particularly painful when the celebrity in question was a child star. Rin Usami’s Idol, Burning examines that relationship through a young girl who […]
I was delighted when Robbie Arnott’s new novel popped up in my Twitter feed. I’d been a huge fan of his debut, Flames, at first reluctant given it’s magic realism thread but won over by his beautiful writing, then again by The Rain Heron. A coming-of-age story set in 1940s Tasmania with the Second World
Limberlost by Robbie Arnott: ‘The things you don’t know’ Read More »
As ever, there’s little to tempt me in December’s publishing schedules although there are a couple of potential out-of-the-way gems beginning with Jean Bapiste Andrea’s Devils and Saints. A pianist, schooled at a religious institution in the Pyrenees, wows travellers at airports and stations with his virtuoso piano performances, turning down many offers of work
Books to Look Out For in December 2022 Read More »
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 – The Naked Chef to Mailman Read More »
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could. After the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, it seemed that everyone, particularly American novelists, felt they had
Blasts from the Past: The Submission by Amy Waldman (2011) Read More »
I’d not read any Japanese fiction for quite some time when I spotted Hiroko Oyamada’s eye-catchingly titled Weasels in the Attic on NetGalley and liked the sound of it. Billed as a novel, it reads more like closely linked short stories in which a middle-aged man recounts three separate meals shared with his best friend,
Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada (transl. David Boyd): A tale of three dinners Read More »
All sorts of different things attract me to a novel – mention of spare writing in a blurb, fiction by poets, the book’s setting or a favourite theme to name but a few. Sometimes it’s structure. A dual narrative handled well always hits the spot, as does catching up with a group of friends who
Five Novels I’ve Read with Unusual Structures Read More »
I spotted Lydia Millet’s Dinosaurs on NetGalley, pleased to be reminded of how much I’d enjoyed Oh Pure and Radiant Heart many moons ago. This subtle, understated novel follows Gil who’s decided to put his New York past behind him and move to Arizona, captivated by footage of the Arizonan landscape, and having nothing better to
Dinosaurs: A Novel by Lydia Millet: ‘You can do your best all your life’ Read More »
Unusually for me, I had mixed feelings when I saw a new Elizabeth Strout in the schedules: Lucy by the Sea is Lucy Barton’s third outing, the second in a year, and it’s a pandemic novel. I wondered if she was becoming little overexposed but knew I’d read it anyway. Lucy and her ex-husband, William,
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout: ‘This is how we lived. It was strange’ Read More »
Long time readers of this blog will have noticed that Berlin is a favourite city of mine. I’ve visited it three times and if you asked me if I’d like to go again tomorrow I’d be eagerly packing my bag, ready to head off. The next best thing, of course, is a virtual visit by
Five Novels I’ve Read Set in Berlin Read More »
I’ve come to expect challenging books from Peirene Press although the last one I read, Marzhan, Mon Amour, turned out to be full of gentle humour and affection for the titular former East Berlin suburb. Senka Marić’s Body Kintsugi is a tough though ultimately optimistic read covering two years in which our unnamed protagonist undergoes
Body Kintsugi by Senka Marić (transl. Celia Hawkesworth): ‘You are life itself’ Read More »