Book news, reviews and recommendations
I was the reviews editor at Waterstone’s Books Quarterly when Louise Welsh’s The Cutting Room was published 20 years ago. I wasn’t particularly inclined to read it, not being a crime fiction fan, but of course needed to for work and what a treat I’d have missed if I hadn’t. The star of the show […]
The Second Cut by Louise Welsh: Rilke’s return Read More »
I don’t think a novel’s title alone has convinced me I’d want to read it before but I couldn’t resist that wordplay: Mrs Death Misses Death promised to be clever, funny and all about a subject we privileged Westerners do our best to sanitise with all sorts of euphemisms. Salena Godden’s debut rubs our faces
Back in the very early days of this blog, I reviewed Peter Ackroyd’s Three Brothers having not read anything by him for quite some time. I ended the review wondering if it was time to read his more recent novels. Seven years later, Mr Cadmus turned up. This prettily presented novella, all set to be
Mr Cadmus by Peter Ackroyd: Something of a surprise Read More »
It’s been well over four years since Scarlett Thomas’ The Seed Collectors was published. Since then she’s produced three children’s books. I’d been eyeing the schedules hoping for another adult novel, wondering if her writing career had taken a permanent turn when Oligarchy turned up. This short, biting novel should please Thomas fans with its
Oligarchy by Scarlett Thomas: Sharp, funny and very, very dark Read More »
Mary Costello’s Academy Street was one of my books of 2014. The story of one woman’s attenuated life, I loved it for its small canvas and pared back prose, including it in both my Man Booker and Women’s Prize for Fiction wish lists. It popped up again here earlier in the week as one of
The River Capture by Mary Costello: Madness, Joyce and obsession Read More »
I’m sure this isn’t the first reread I’ve reviewed here but aside from Amy Bloom’s Rowing to Eden, which turned out to be made up of several collections of short stories, nothing comes to mind. Australian writer Helen Garner’s The Spare Room was published in 2008 and has recently been reissued. I remember reading it
The Spare Room by Helen Garner: Stretched to the limits Read More »
Will Eaves’ Murmur was originally published by CB Editions, a ‘one-person-venture’ as its website describes it. A brave decision, then, to publish an experimental piece of fiction which makes considerable demands on its readers’ attention but it’s paid off handsomely. Eaves’ book was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths and James Tait Black Prizes then bagged both
Murmur by Will Eaves: An imagined life Read More »
This seems to be the year of the novella for me helped along by Madame Bibi who devoted the whole of last month to the form. Set in a small Irish town, Rebecca O’Connor’s He Is Mine and I Have No Other may be short on pages but it’s devastating in its revelation of tragedy,
He Is Mine and I Have No Other by Rebecca O’Connor: Secrets and Lies Read More »
I’ve been looking forward to this novel since I first came across it in Canongate’s catalogue. Some of you may have already heard of Matthew Weiner, or you may know his writing from Mad Men or The Sopranos but not his name. As is so often the case, it’s the starry actors’ names that stay
Heather, The Totality by Matthew Weiner: Delivers on its promise 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. The People’s Act of Love is one of those rare things: a novel that came to me via
Blasts from the Past: The People’s Act of Love by James Meek (2005) Read More »
Donna Morrissey’s new novel comes with a hearty endorsement from one of my favourite authors, Ron Rash, who’s dubbed it ‘one of the very best novels I have read in years’. It had caught my eye even before I’d seen the press release but after reading that how could I resist? Attentive readers may have
The Fortunate Brother by Donna Morrissey: Loose lips sink ships Read More »