Book news, reviews and recommendations
Four years ago, I was sent a book by Jhumpa Lahiri which had intrigued me when I saw it listed as a translated work. In Other Words is her account of a passion for the Italian language so intense she uprooted her family from the US so that she could immerse herself in it. The […]
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri (transl. by the author): ’Solitude: it’s become my trade’ Read More »
June’s first batch of new fiction began with a much trumpeted novel with a literary theme as does the second. Lots of pre-publication brouhaha for Francesca Reece’s Voyeur which sees a young woman who’s left London for Paris, delighted when she gets a job as a writer’s assistant. Leah’s enthusiasm proves infectious, inspiring Michael to
Books to Look Out For in June 2021: Part Two Read More »
I included Sunjeev Sahota’s The Year of the Runaways in my Five Books I’ve Read post about immigrants, having enjoyed it very much. About a group of economic migrants, it was notable for its empathetic portrayal of their precarious lives. His new novel, China Room, interweaves two stories, both set in the Punjab: the first
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota: The price of love Read More »
I first noticed Ailsa McFarlane’s Highway Blue in The Observer’s ’10 Best Debuts of 2021’ feature at the beginning of the year. Inevitably, given my weakness for first novels, several titles expanded my TBR list but McFarlane’s is the first I’ve read. Highway Blue follows Anne Marie and her estranged husband Cal who are on
Highway Blue by Ailsa McFarlane: A startlingly good debut Read More »
Several long-trailed titles are due to be published in June including Zakiya Dalila Harris’ The Other Black Girl which has been all over my Twitter timeline for quite some time. Lots of publishing folk eager to get their hands on a proof and once you’re read the premise you’ll see why. Wagner Books’ only black
Books to Look Out For in June 2021: 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 – From Beezus and Ramona to Claudine at School Read More »
I was delighted to spot Daniela Krien’s gorgeously jacketed Love in Five Acts in my Twitter timeline towards the end of last year. I’d read the haunting Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything back in 2015 which feels like an age ago now – pre-Brexit, pre-Trump and pre-pandemic. Born in the GDR, Krien was a
Love in Five Acts by Daniela Krien (transl. Jamie Bulloch): Take five women Read More »
Four years ago, I started my review of Jon McGregor’s Reservoir 13 with a paean of praise for this writer who seems to excel himself with each new book. His superb new novel, Lean Fall Stand, continues that progression with its story of a man returning from his beloved Antarctica, irrevocably changed, and his wife
Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor: Surviving catastrophe Read More »
This second batch of May paperbacks kicks off with a favourite from last year: Nick Bradley’s The Cat and the City. Set in Tokyo, Bradley’s episodic novel follows a set of characters through their teeming city as it prepares to play host to the Olympics, each of whose lives are touched by a very particular
Paperbacks to Look Out For in May 2021: Part Two Read More »
I was attracted to Marco Missiroli’s Fidelity by its title thinking it might make an interesting companion to Sue Miller’s Monogamy which I so enjoyed last year. That and its jacket with those eyes staring so directly at the camera. Set in Milan, it spans nine years in the lives of a husband and wife,
Fidelity by Marco Missiroli (transl. Alex Valente): ‘I am happy right here’ Read More »
Lots of pre-publication brouhaha in my neck of the Twitter woods around Katherine Heiny’s Early Morning Riser which so often leads to disappointment but something about its blurb made me think it might live up to that promise so I put up my hand for a copy. Set in a small American town, always a
Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny: If you like Anne Tyler… Read More »