Book news, reviews and recommendations
Much of October was taken up with a trip to Portugal where we were lucky enough to snatch a last blast of summer. Hard to leave Lisbon on a balmy blue-skyed day but a standout book in my first week back eased the pain. Set on his beloved Shetland, singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack’s That Beautiful Atlantic […]
Books of the Year 2024: Part Four Read More »
Andrew Miller occasionally sets his books in the present but excels at historical fiction whether that be the eighteenth century of my favourite Ingenious Pain or 1962/3, when Britain was in the grips of a brutal cold snap, in his new novel. The Land in Winter follows two very different couples, incomers to the Somerset
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller: A distinctly chilly tale Read More »
Much of my reading can be described as contemporary fiction but I sometimes stick my toe in the historical fiction water. I was convinced that was a rare occurrence but, apparently, I’ve read enough to put together several of these posts spread across different centuries. I should start off in the twentieth century but that
Five Novels Set in the Nineteenth Century I’ve Read Read More »
Back from a short break in Lyme Regis (more of which later in the week) with a second batch of October fiction which begins with a novel that didn’t quite fulfil my hopes. Set in the rain-soaked coastal community of Faha in December 1962, Time of the Child is a sequel of sorts to This
Books to Look Out For in October 2024: Part Two Read More »
A few of my 2022 favourites are published in paperback in January the first of which is Lee Cole’s quietly accomplished Groundskeeping which follows Owen who’s working as a groundskeeper in order to pay for his writing course. At a college party he meets Alma, the writer in residence, younger than him but with a
Paperbacks to Look Out For in January 2023: Part One Read More »
There was a definite family theme running through much of the first part of March’s fiction preview; this second part is more of a mixed bag although it does start with a novel about a family, and an infamous one at that. As I say all too often on here, then promptly read the exception
Books to Look Out for in March 2022: Part Two Read More »
This June is bursting at the seams with tempting paperbacks – enough to fill two long posts – of which I’ve already read and reviewed several beginning with one of my books of last year, Sarah Moss’ Ghost Wall. Longlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, Moss’ novel is a powerful exploration of controlling
Paperbacks to Look Out for in June 2019: Part One Read More »
I have a history with Andrew Miller’s writing: I loved Ingenious Pain so much that I included it in my One-Hundred-Book Library and Pure came a close second. It’s not that his other novels haven’t been enjoyable but Ingenious Pain was so inventive in its premise and so beautifully executed that I’ve been left mildly
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller: Love and war Read More »
Almost time for the 2018 Man Booker judges to announce their longlist to readers, not to mention publishers, waiting with bated breath to see if their favourites are amongst the chosen few. This year’s a special one. As I’m sure you all know, It’s the prize’s fiftieth anniversary which has been celebrated with a string
My 2018 Man Booker Wish List Read More »
Much jostling for position at the top of August’s list of new titles, three of which I’ve already read but not yet reviewed. I’m starting with Andrew Miller’s Now We Shall Be Entirely Free which is up there up there alongside Ingenious Pain and Pure, his two best novels for me. Set in Somerset just
Books to Look Out for in August 2018: Part One 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. Ingenious Pain is the example I often cite when talking about the difficulty of following an impressive first
Blasts from the Past: Ingenious Pain by Andrew Miller (1997) Read More »