Book news, reviews and recommendations
Summer saw a return to more serious reading after spring’s escapism, perhaps because we were experiencing a little respite from the pandemic in the UK. Coincidentally, both June choices overlapped in terms of their unusual theme, exploring the repercussions of nuclear fission. The first was Stuart Evers’ The Blind Light, a little daunting in its […]
Books of the Year 2020: Part Three Read More »
Spring saw several uncharacteristic reads hitting the spot for me, quite possibly as the result of seeking more distraction than usual. April got off to an excellent start with C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills is Gold, set in a reimagined American West in the grips of the Gold Rush. Zhang’s novel is
Books of the Year 2020: Part Two Read More »
Strange to remember writing my books of the year posts for 2019 last December, blissfully unaware of the surreal year that lay ahead for us all. I’ve been one of those fortunate people whose concentration didn’t take too much of a pandemic hit instead burying myself in reading and blogging, finding solace in books and
Books of the Year 2020: 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 Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret to Expo 58 Read More »
Given my bah humbug attitude, readers are unlikely to have expected a Christmas read from me but I couldn’t resist a literary trip to the snow-covered German landscape with Urs Faes’ Twelve Nights, set not far from the Black Forest. Beginning just before Christmas, Faes’ brief novella tells the story of Manfred who’s returned home
Twelve Nights by Urs Faes (transl. Jamie Lee Searle): Christmas is coming… Read More »
Marina Kemp’s Nightingale is the second of the five titles shortlisted for the Sunday Times/University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year award I’ve chosen to review, both of which I’d planned to read before the judges picked them. In contrast to Naoise Dolan’s sharp, urban Exciting Times peopled with transients, Nightingale takes its time
Nightingale by Marina Kemp: Secrets and lies in rural France 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. I remember being pitched Helen Oyeyemi’s The Icarus Girl back in 2005 when I was the reviews editor
Blasts from the Past: The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi (2005) Read More »
I’ve often wondered why more fiction isn’t about work given how much of our lives most of us spend doing it which is what drew me to Kikuko Tsumura’s There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job, her first novel to be published here in the UK. Having experienced harassment in her first job, Tsumura
I’d been looking forward to reading Naoise Dolan’s Exciting Times for a while when I was offered a review copy. Nolan’s debut is one of the five titles shortlisted for the Sunday Times/University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year award which I helped shadow judge two years ago. I have very fond memories of
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan: The art of self-sabotage Read More »
I owe this post to H who came up with the idea when we were out walking one day, I can’t remember when or where. At first I dismissed it, rather snottily it has to be said, but by the time we were home I’d become quite enthusiastic and already had five striking openers all
Five Books I’ve Read with Memorable Opening Lines Read More »
Readers blessed with excellent memories may recall I mentioned Bradford Morrow’s The Forger’s Daughter in a November preview. I put up my hand but for some reason wasn’t sent a copy then I noticed its precursor on NetGalley. Not my favourite way to read but by this time I was all primed and ready for
The Forgers by Bradford Morrow: ‘It takes a lot of truth to tell a lie’ Read More »