Book news, reviews and recommendations
I knew there was a new Ann Patchett on the horizon but wasn’t entirely sure of its publication date so when a proof of Tom Lake turned up out of the blue I was thrilled to bits. I’m a big Patchett fan and although her lovely collection of essays, These Precious Days, had been a […]
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett: A celebration of life and love 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 into as many hands as I could. Stephen Sherrill’s debut was much talked about just after I started work as a reviews editor. I wasn’t
Blasts from the Past: The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Stephen Sherrill (2000) Read More »
I’ve long had a weakness for American small town novels. I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps it’s the idea of a small canvas onto which universal human traits are projected together with a curious nostalgia for a country where I’ve spent quite a few holidays but never felt I’d entirely got to know. Hard to
Five Small Town American Novels I’ve Read Read More »
The blurb for Jenny Jackson’s debut suggested a satisfying, unchallenging read which fit the bill for me at a time when I was too tired for much in the way of incisive thinking. It also has a very enticing cover which intriguingly shows an orange rather than the titular fruit. Pineapple Street is about two
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson: ‘Let’s talk about something real’ Read More »
It might seem surprising but I have a weakness for romcoms. If done well, they have me snivelling happily on the sofa or in the case of the wonderful Rye Lane, at the cinema. Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy sounded like a pleasing subversion of the romcom rules with its averagely attractive introvert meets rock god
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld: ‘Hot eventually gets boring but funny never does’ Read More »
A proof of Charmaine Craig’s new novel turned up shortly after I’d mentioned it in my March preview, neatly solving the ‘what to read next’ problem. Craig’s book is a novella, and a brief one at that, which had me assuming that I’d be facing the same dilemma shortly, but it took me quite some
My Nemesis by Charmaine Craig: ‘An insult to womankind’ Read More »
I’ve yet to get around to reading Rebecca Makkai’s last novel, The Great Believers, but I enjoyed both The Borrower and The Hundred-Year House so put up my hand for a copy of her new novel. I Have Some Questions for You follows Bodie who never felt she fit in at Granby, the boarding school
I’d not long read Dani Shapiro’s memoir of discovering that her beloved father was not her biological parent, when I spotted her new novel on NetGalley. Identity and family are the overriding themes running through Inheritance and the latter is to the fore in Signal Fires which follows the Shenkmans and the Wilfs who live
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro: Secrets, lies and the damage done Read More »
I’d love to show off my jazz erudition and tell you that I knew the title of Laura Warrell’s debut was a Jelly Roll Morton quote but that’s not the case. Truth be told, I know little or nothing about the genre but I did like the idea of a novel that told the story
Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell: Men behaving badly Read More »
Sidik Fofana’s Stories from the Tenants Downstairs instantly appealed to me: a tightly linked set of short stories about the tenants of a Harlem apartment block ticked two of my literary boxes, and that cover sealed the deal. Fofana’s collection sees many of the inhabitants of Banneker Terrace threatened with eviction thanks to the new
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana: No place like home Read More »
I’m not the target market for Monica Heisey’s Really Good, Actually but occasionally I find myself seduced by hype, wanting to know what all the fuss is about. For those who don’t already know, Heisey is a comedian and Schitt’s Creek scriptwriter. Her debut covers a year in twenty-nine-year-old Maggie’s life after her husband takes
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey: ‘Is everything okay?’ Read More »