Book news, reviews and recommendations
It was its premise that attracted me to Sara Freeman’s Tides when it was pitched to me: a debut about a woman who flees after suffering a devastating bereavement drawn into a relationship with a man suffering his own loss, and there was mention of a spare writing style, always my favourite. I’d expected a …
Tides by Sara Freeman: ‘Not feeling is a feeling too’ Read More »
I was a wee bit wary of reading Nickolas Butler’s Godspeed. His first novel, Shotgun Lovesongs, had set the bar so high that perhaps a slight feeling of disappointment in his second, The Hearts of Men, was inevitable. Rather than Butler’s beloved Wisconsin, this new novel is set in Wyoming where three men, friends and …
Godspeed by Nickolas Butler: Too good to be true Read More »
Huge amounts of brouhaha surrounding Zakiya Dalila Harris’ debut, stretching back many months as publishers tweeted their joy at getting their hands on a copy of The Other Black Girl. I’ll admit to suffering proof envy with this one, resorting to NetGalley when it turned out there were none left. Set in a prestigious New …
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris: Stepford publishers Read More »
I ended my review of Vendela Vida’s The Diver’s Clothes Lie Entry back in 2015, pleased to find she had a backlist to explore. Needless to say, too many bright, shiny new books got in the way so I was delighted when We Run the Tides arrived through the letterbox. Set in a wealthy San …
We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida: Beauty and truth, or the lack of it 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 »
Alexis Schaitkin’s Saint X suffered more than most from the upheavals which struck last year’s schedules, appearing in print nine months or so after it was first due to be published. Truth be told I wasn’t at all sure about it when it arrived. I wondered if it might be a step too far into …
Lauren Oyler’s Fake Accounts is the first of two novels taking a swipe at social media’s pervasive influence that caught my eye in February’s publishing schedules. I’ll be reviewing the other next week. Set in 2016 with Trump freshly elected, Oyler’s debut follows her unnamed narrator who is shocked to find that her apparently liberal …
Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler: Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling… Read More »
Five years ago I reviewed The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein, as she was known then, describing it as ‘a quirky bit of escapism’. You can see why, given our current predicament, I was keen to read Hex hoping for something similar. Garlanded with praise from the likes of Jonathan Safran Foer and Emma Straub, …
Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight: A six-cornered love story with a botanical twist Read More »
Several times recently I’ve enjoyed novels I might have otherwise dismissed thanks to a puff from authors whose own work I particularly enjoy. In the case of Jessica Anthony’s Enter the Aardvark it was the ‘fresh, witty and smart’ comment from one of my all time favourites, Kate Atkinson, that sealed the deal. Without it, …
Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony: A winning combination of taxidermy and politics Read More »
If you’re a reader who prefers a neat plot within a linear, well-defined narrative best steer clear of Jenny Offill’s new novel. If, like me, you’re a fan of Dept. of Speculation and have been hoping for a little while to see Offill’s name pop up in the publishing schedules, you’re in for a treat. …
The Gunners is built around a structure that rarely fails to attract me: a group of people, once friends as children or young adults, are brought together by an event which affects them all. Weddings and funerals are a favourite trigger for this kind of reunion and in the case of Rebecca Kauffman’s novel it’s …
The Gunners by Rebecca Kauffman: The Big Chill reprised Read More »