Book news, reviews and recommendations
I was in two minds about reading Miriam Robinson’s And Notre Dame is Burning, attracted by the idea of a fragmented, non-linear narrative which I often enjoy but wondering if it might be too ambitious for a debut. Robinson’s novel follows Esther over five years or so in which time seems to flatten for her […]
And Notre Dame is Burning by Miriam Robinson: ‘Do you know this man?’ Read More »
I missed Commitment in hardback, knowing it would require time, thought and attention that I didn’t have when it was due to be published, but unusually, Mona Simpson’s American publicist contacted me, and I suggested a review for the UK paperback publication. Beginning in the early ’70s, it tells the story of the Aziz family
Commitment by Mona Simpson: Coming of age in difficult times Read More »
Kate Doyle’s I Meant It Once comprises sixteen short stories, some very short indeed which was about all I felt up to when I read it, plagued with a sore throat and headache. As ever, I’ll pick out a few favourites to give you a flavour of what’s on offer in this collection which features
I Meant It Once by Kate Doyle: A curate’s egg Read More »
Five years ago, I reviewed Jennifer Egan’s Manhattan Beach, noting that it was seven years since her Pulitzer Prize-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad had been published. I was a little disappointed in it, truth be told, but when I spotted The Candy House in the schedules, I put up my hand, attracted by
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan: Virtual dystopia Read More »
There will be lots of fans standing ready for this one, I’m sure. It’s been seven years since the excellent A Visit from the Goon Squad which bagged both the Pulitzer and National Book Critics Circle Award. Manhattan Beach is very different, not least because it’s Egan’s first historical novel. Beginning in the Great Depression,
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan: Diving in Read More »
It was clear even before I opened Fiona Melrose’s new novel that it was going to be an homage to Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway: it follows a set of disparate characters through a single day as one of them prepares for a party on December 6th, 2013. Just as Woolf’s novel reflected the preoccupations of
Johannesburg by Fiona Melrose: Mrs Dalloway goes to South Africa Read More »
I have a weakness for debuts. There’s always the hope that I’m about to be introduced to an author who will make their mark or take me somewhere I haven’t been before. It’s not unusual, either, for a writer’s first novel to be their best. Perhaps it’s all that time spent perfecting the writing, none
Love Me Back by Merritt Tierce: A startlingly accomplished debut Read More »
I’ve admired Rupert Thomson’s work for some time. His novels are never predictable, always exploring unexpected terrain from the advertising world, satirized in Soft!, to the Medici court in Secrecy‘s seventeenth century Florence. The last one’s my particular favourite. Famously, Davie Bowie’s is The Insult which appeared as one of his 100 Must-Read Books of
Katherine Carlyle by Rupert Thomson: A sense of belonging Read More »
Quite some years ago now I read Michael Crummey’s The River Thieves while on holiday. Having thoroughly enjoyed it, I eagerly snapped up Galore when it was published but, sadly, was a little underwhelmed – it wasn’t a bad book but lacked the impact of his previous novel, at least for me. The 2011 IMPAC
Sweetland by Michael Crummey: No man is an island Read More »
Corsair is one of my favourite imprints, a member of a select band that always published far too many tempting books to include them all when I was a reviews editor. One I had to drop, reluctantly, a couple of years ago was Cathleen Schine’s The Three Weissmanns of Westport which had kept me entertained
Fin and Lady by Cathleen Schine: Holly Golightly plays guardian Read More »