Book news, reviews and recommendations
Almost exactly two years ago I reviewed Susannah Dickey’s debut, Tennis Lessons, which championed the value of friendship through two young women, one painfully awkward saved by the other. I enjoyed it very much so was eager to read Common Decency which picks up some of her first novel’s themes through the story of Lily, …
Common Decency by Susannah Dickey: A tale of two women Read More »
Obviously, I couldn’t resist Bea Setton’s Berlin despite reading both Frieidrichstrasse 19 and Marzhan, Mon Amour in quick succession earlier in the year, also set in one of my favourite European cities. Setton’s debut is very different from the others which tell the story of two neighbourhoods through the people who live in them. This …
My reading year’s off to a great start with a book by an author whose name I’ve spotted frequently in my Twitter timeline but somehow never got around to reading. Given that I wasn’t entirely persuaded by its premise, it was those tweets from so many readers I trust that tipped the balance in favour …
The Raptures by Jan Carson: ‘You people can’t see anything but yourselves’ Read More »
Given that it was praised to the skies by the likes of Donal Ryan and John Banville, I’ve no idea how I managed to miss Conor O’Callaghan’s debut, Nothing on Earth, but I did. Fortunately, We Are Not In The World caught my eye on Twitter, looking very much up my literary alley. O’Callaghan’s novel …
We Are Not In The World by Conor O’Callaghan: The unbearableness of loss Read More »
Two years ago, looking for something easy to read after a tree root tripped me up landing me with a nasty headache, I picked up Anne Youngson’s first novel, Meet Me at the Museum, having previously dismissed it thinking it looked too schmaltzy for me. It turned out to be one of the best books …
Three Women and a Boat by Anne Youngson: The kindness of strangers Read More »
I owe a debt of gratitude to Ali at Heavenali whose review of Lissa Evans’ Old Baggage persuaded me to read it after being put off by its blurb. I loved it so much it ended up on both my 2018 books of the year list and my 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction wishlist. You …
After a slightly sticky start with Donal Ryan’s The Thing About December I’ve become an ardent fan of his fiction, my admiration increasing first with All We Shall Know then From A Low and Quiet Sea, both of which shared themes of love and redemption in their different ways as does Strange Flowers. Beginning in …
It was Cathy at 746 Books who first alerted me to Susannah Dickey’s debut. Cathy’s reliably impeccable taste meant Tennis Lessons went straight on my ever lengthening wishlist. Dickey’s also a poet, giving me another reason to read it. Poets so often write good fiction. From the blurb, I thought it would be a straightforward, …
Tennis Lessons by Susannah Dickey: Growing pains Read More »
Back in 2015 I read a debut so striking it more than lived up to the superlatives liberally scattered in its press release. That was Sarah Leipciger’s The Mountain Can Wait, anchored in its Canadian backwoods setting by its gorgeous descriptive language. As you can imagine, then, my hopes for her second novel were sky-high, …
Coming Up for Air by Sarah Leipciger: Everything I’d hoped for… Read More »
I’m an inveterate list maker. It’s my way of organizing myself and remembering to do things. And I always make a list before shopping. Who knows what I’d come home with otherwise? Hardly surprising, then, that I was attracted to Livia Franchini’s Shelf Life which tells Ruth’s story through the shopping list she made the …