Book news, reviews and recommendations
Part one of April’s preview had a nice little Celtic theme running through it whereas part two is much more of a hodge-podge thematically so I’ll start with the three I’ve already read. Five years ago, I reviewed Jennifer Egan’s Manhattan Beach, noting that it was seven years since her Pulitzer Prize-winning A Visit from […]
Books to Look Out For in April 2022: Part Two Read More »
Spanish poet Elena Medel’s first novel, The Wonders, was much acclaimed in her homeland, winning the prestigious Francisco Umbral Prize. Unsurprisingly, not being a poetry reader, I’d not heard of her but I’m always keen to read novels by poets and this one’s themes of feminism and class made it very appealing so I put
Oh, I do love an unreliable narrator. Even better when you’re not sure whether they’re reliable or not right up until the end. The premise of Antoine Wilson’s Mouth to Mouth is a clever one: two men, barely acquainted in college, are stranded by a delayed flight – one a struggling writer on his way
Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson: A man of integrity? Read More »
Less new fiction than I’d hoped to look out for in April but still enough to fill a two-part preview kicking off with one for which I was champing at the bit once I saw it all over Twitter. Set in early ‘90s Glasgow, Booker Prize-winning Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is about the youngest son
Books to Look Out For in April 2022: Part One 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 End of the Affair to Breakfast at Tiffany’s Read More »
I read the Stinging Fly Press edition of Wendy Erskine’s Sweet Home a while ago mainly because I’ve yet to read anything published by them that hasn’t impressed. I enjoyed its quiet stories of everyday people very much which is what made me put up my hand for Dance Move and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve
Dance Move by Wendy Erskine: Quiet brilliance Read More »
It only seems a blink of an eye since the announcement of the last Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, or at least that’s how it feels to me. Nevertheless, it is that time again and Tuesday, 8th March is the date to add your diary should you be as keen as I am on this
My Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 Wishlist Read More »
The second part of March’s paperback preview begins with two novels on an art theme: one I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed; the other I haven’t but it comes highly recommended. Maylis de Kerangal’s Painting Time follows one of three students who meet in Brussels while on a trompe l’œil course. Paula shares her small apartment
Paperbacks to Look Out For in March 2022: Part Two Read More »
Irish writer Sheila Armstrong’s debut collection How to Gut a Fish came with a glowing endorsement from Roddy Doyle which was part of the lure for me; that and the hint of the surreal in its blurb. The collection comprises fourteen stories, none more than twenty pages long, each very different from the other. As
How to Gut a Fish by Sheila Armstrong: A striking, idiosyncratic collection Read More »
Peirene Press novellas are reliably excellent but rarely cheery reads. Katja Oskamp’s Marzahn, Mon Amour bucks that trend with its tender, affectionate portrait of a community told through a set of thumbnail sketches of her clients by an unnamed writer turned chiropodist. Regular readers might notice that this is the second visit to Berlin in
Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp (transl. Jo Heinrich): An everyday gem Read More »
With spring on the horizon here in the UK, perhaps more in hope than in reality after last week’s storms, I’m starting March’s paperback preview with two books that should raise a smile. Set in a small American town, Katherine Heiny’s Early Morning Riser follows Jane who meets the handsome Duncan when she locks herself
Paperbacks to Look Out For in March 2022: Part One Read More »