Book news, reviews and recommendations
A healthy two-parter preview for March with a wide range of books to look out for including several I’ve already read beginning with Alexis Schaitkin’s enjoyable Saint X, a casualty of last year’s slipping and sliding in the publishing schedules. A little outside my usual literary territory as you can probably tell from that cover, […]
Books to Look Out for in March 2021: Part One Read More »
I don’t think a novel’s title alone has convinced me I’d want to read it before but I couldn’t resist that wordplay: Mrs Death Misses Death promised to be clever, funny and all about a subject we privileged Westerners do our best to sanitise with all sorts of euphemisms. Salena Godden’s debut rubs our faces
January seems to be Delphine de Vigan month for me. This time two years ago I reviewed the gripping Based on a True Story with which I was very impressed; last year’s Loyalties not so much. This year it’s Gratitude and I’m back to being a de Vigan fan. This brief of novellas explores ageing
Finding links between novels in the first part of February’s paperback preview was hard enough but it’s even worse with the second, I’m afraid. Best start off with what I’ve already read. Daniel Khelmann’s Tyll was one of my books of last year, an uncharacteristic choice for me but I’m a huge fan of Kehlmann’s
Paperbacks to Look Out for in February 2021: Part Two Read More »
Olivia Sudjic’s Sympathy has been on my TBR list for as long as it’s been published. No idea why I haven’t got around to buying a copy but when I spotted Asylum Road in the publishing schedules I put my hand up, attracted partly by the multitude of glowing puffs from the likes of Megan
Asylum Road by Olivia Sudjic: ‘Noli me tangere’ Read More »
Always a risky business agreeing to a review request from an author, something I rarely do. If I don’t like their book, it feels as if I’ve slapped them in the face. Last year, I struck lucky with Deirdre Shanahan’s Carrying Fire and Water which is perhaps what made me accept Barbara Bleiman’s offer of
Kreminology of Kisses by Barbara Bleiman: Sealed with a kiss, or not Read More »
Lots of paperback goodies to help us all through the dank, dreary days of February, even more necessary than usual this year, more than enough for a two-part preview. I’ve already read several beginning with Rowan Hisayo Buchanan’s Starling Days whose poignancy leavened with wry humour and striking images echoes her debut, Harmless Like You.
Paperbacks to Look Out for in February 2021: Part One Read More »
It’s been well over four years since I reviewed The Sunlight Pilgrims, Jenni Fagan’s last novel, a rare dip into dystopian fiction for me but Fagan’s the kind of author whose work I’d make a beeline for, regardless of the genre she’d chosen. Her new novel, Luckenbooth, is entirely different, spinning the stories of the
Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan: Devilishly good Read More »
I’d already spotted Gemma Reeves’ Victoria Park in the publishing schedules before I was offered it for review. The first copy failed to materialise, caught up in the Covid/Christmas Royal Mail vortex that hit the headlines in December, but I’m pleased to say the second arrived before I had to resort to NetGalley, not my
Victoria Park by Gemma Reeves: Everybody needs good neighbours Read More »
This second part of February’s new fiction preview kicks off with two novels which explore something on which I spend far too much of my time. I’ve already read Patricia Lockwood’s No One is Talking About This which explores the seductive, addictive world of social media through a woman who finds herself a celebrated internet
Books to Look Out for in February 2021: Part Two Read More »
Bryan Washington’s first book, Lot, made quite an impression on me. Billed as a collection of linked short stories it read more like a fragmentary novella, remarkable for its sense of place and its beautifully crafted prose. It was a contender for my books of 2019 list, only omitted because there were so many other
Memorial by Bryan Washington: Saying the words out loud Read More »