Book news, reviews and recommendations
I was in two minds about reading Ruth, Kate Riley’s debut, but that clever cover and a pithy one-line puff from Jenny Offill swung it for me. It’s told from the point of view of the eponymous character, born into an Anabaptist community in 1963, following her through childhood, marriage and motherhood into middle age. […]
Ruth by Kate Riley: A world apart Read More »
Several times recently I’ve enjoyed novels I might have otherwise dismissed thanks to a puff from authors whose own work I particularly enjoy. In the case of Jessica Anthony’s Enter the Aardvark it was the ‘fresh, witty and smart’ comment from one of my all time favourites, Kate Atkinson, that sealed the deal. Without it,
Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony: A winning combination of taxidermy and politics Read More »
Anna Hope’s new novel is very different from Wake and The Ballroom, her first two, both of which I enjoyed and both of which were set in the early twentieth century. Expectation opens in 2004 and has the kind of structure that I find irresistible, exploring themes of friendship, motherhood, love and feminism through the
Expectation by Anna Hope: Testament of friendship Read More »
Back from my hols (more of which later in the week) with one I prepared earlier. If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, no matter how short, you’ll probably have gathered that Kate Atkinson is one of my favourite writers, not nearly as recognised by awards judges as she should be.
Big Sky by Kate Atkinson: Jackson, how we’ve missed you. Read More »
Jo Baker seems to be one of those writers who can master any genre. Her last novel, A Country Road, a Tree, was a fictionalised account of Samuel Beckett’s involvement with the French Resistance. Not a theme that appealed to me but I remember very much enjoying her ghost story, The Telling. In The Body
The Body Lies by Jo Baker: ‘Giving up is not consent’ Read More »
Regular readers will know that I’m an ardent Kate Atkinson fan, always keen to put her novels at the front of any queue for literary prizes although more often than not left discombobulated by the judges’ seeming determination not to hand them over. Perhaps Transcription will buck that trend although it was conspicuous by its
Transcription by Kate Atkinson: ‘Can I Tempt You?’ Read More »
I’d heard lots of good things about Lissa Evans’ Crooked Heart but hadn’t got around to reading it by the time Old Baggage turned up. Given that it’s a prequel I thought I’d give it a miss but Ali’s review persuaded me it could happily stand alone for which I’m very grateful. Evans’ new novel
Old Baggage by Lissa Evans: Votes for women, all of them Read More »
I read Curtis Sittenfeld’s The American Wife on holiday quite some time ago and found it hard to drag myself away from. Those who’ve read it will know that the titular wife is loosely based on Laura Bush which certainly added spice to the reading but the quality of Sittenfeld’s writing would have kept me
You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld: Appearances can be deceptive Read More »
I’ve a somewhat chequered history with Donal Ryan’s writing. While I enjoyed The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December I couldn’t work up the ecstatic enthusiasm so many other readers were voicing. Then I read All We Shall Know which made it on to my 2016 books of the year list. It’s early days,
From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan: Love, loss and connection Read More »
I ended my review of Donal Ryan’s last novel, The Thing About December, by quoting Litlove’s idea that the higher your expectations for a book, the greater your disappointment when they’re not met. Both Ryan’s novels had been praised to the skies and although there was much to admire in his second, those raised expectations
All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan: Redemption in spades Read More »
I was looking for something a little more straightforward after the literary fireworks of Nicola Barker’s The Cauliflower® which is why I turned to Barney Norris’ debut – that and its Salisbury setting. I live an hour’s train journey from Salisbury with its famous cathedral, mentioned often in Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain,
Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain by Barney Norris: Only connect Read More »