Book news, reviews and recommendations
I took a punt on Susan Butterwieser’s Junction of Earth and Sky looking for something absorbing but untaxing in the summer heat. The blurb promised a novel spanning six decades and two continents, comparing it with both The Paper Palace and The Dutch House, neither of which sprang to mind for me. Butterweiser’s debut begins […]
I jumped at the chance to read James, Percival Everett’s reimagining of Mark Twain’s American classic, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I read as a child, oblivious to the fact that Twain meant it as a satire. Everett’s novel turns the narrative around, unfolding the story from the point of view of Jim, the slave
James by Percival Everett: ‘I am a sign. I am your future. I am James.’ Read More »
Laird Hunt’s Zorrie was a surprise hit for me the year before last. The story of an ordinary woman leading a simple life, it reminded me of both Robert Seethaler’s A Whole Life and Elizabeth Strout’s novels, landing a place on my books of the year list. Unsurprisingly, then, I put up my hand for
Float Up, Sing Down by Laird Hunt: If you like Elizabeth Strout… Read More »
I tend to bracket Ron Rash’s Appalachian novels alongside Kent Haruf’s Holt series – both explore big themes on a small canvas; both are carefully expressed – which is why I put up my hand for The Caretaker as soon as I spotted it. Set in 1951, during the Korean War, it has at its
The Caretaker by Ron Rash: The unravelling of deceit Read More »
I was intrigued by Hernan Diaz’s ambitious, complicated novel when I spotted it on Twitter, presented as a ‘literary puzzle’. That eye-catching cover might have had something to do with it, too. It sounded like the kind of book that could fall flat on its face but I put up my hand for a proof.
Trust by Hernan Diaz: ‘Bending and aligning reality’ Read More »
I spotted Laird Hunt’s Zorrie on Twitter, its quietly lovely jacket catching my eye, and made a note to buy a copy. Then Cassie at The Longest Chapter listed it as one of her top ten books of 2021 which decided me to put in a NetGalley request and I’m so glad I did. It’s
Zorrie by Laird Hunt: Echoes of Elizabeth Strout and Robert Seethaler Read More »
I loved Amor Towles Rules of Civility but, for some reason that I can’t now remember, could not get on with A Gentleman in Moscow at all. That didn’t stop me from putting my hand up for a proof of The Lincoln Highway whose stylish jacket seemed to offer the prospect of a road novel,
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles: A 1950s American odyssey Read More »
It was Nickolas Butler’s ringing endorsement that sold Ash Davidson’s Damnation Spring to me. The cover suggested it might have the same gorgeous descriptions of the American landscape I’d loved in his Shotgun Lovesongs and Godspeed. Spanning a single year from 1977-78, Davidson’s tale of environmental despoilation is set in a small Californian community where
Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson: Profit trumps all Read More »
As regular readers may have noticed, a New York City setting is catnip for me which made Jonathan Lee’s The Great Mistake well nigh irresistible. I also have fond memories of reading his book, Joy, which featured in one of my earliest posts when I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted this blog to be.
The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee: ‘The Man Who Gets Things Done’ Read More »
C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills is Gold is one of those books about which there’s been a great deal of buzz in my Twitter timeline – not always a good thing, I know. It was the many and varied literary names singing its praises that first snagged my attention – everyone from
How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang: ‘What Makes a Home a Home?’ Read More »
A new Alice McDermott is always a treat to be relished. She’s one of those quietly brilliant authors whose work has often seemed underrated to me, rather like Elizabeth Strout before Penguin got their hands on My Name is Lucy Barton and placed her firmly on the literary map. I did spot McDermott’s last novel,
The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott: Praise be Read More »