Faber & Faber Archives - A life in books

Cover image for Open Up by Thomas Morris

Open Up by Thomas Morris: Tales of lost boys and seahorses

18 August 2023 / 6 Comments

Regular readers may have noticed that when reviewing books by Irish writers, I often mention they contribute to The Stinging Fly, a Dublin-based biannual magazine which publishes short fiction. From Wendy Erskine to Nicole Flattery, Kevin Barry to Louise Kennedy whose brilliant Trespasses was shortlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, their contributors are …

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Avalon by Nell Zink: A curate’s egg of a novel

11 January 2023 / 16 Comments

I’ve not had much success with Nell Zink’s writing, not quite getting what all the fuss was about with both Nicotine and The Wallcreeper, but I liked the sound of Avalon’s premise so thought I’d give it a go. A young woman with a less than favourable upbringing, tries to find her place in the …

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Cover image for Groundskeeping by Lee Cole

Groundskeeping by Lee Cole: ‘Isn’t that what fiction is, though? Sanctioned lying?’

23 March 2022 / 18 Comments

This is the third novel in as many weeks I’ve read with a writing theme although it’s entirely different from either Antoine Wilson’s Mouth to Mouth or Andrew Lipstein’s Last Resort. It was part of my attraction to Lee Cole’s Groundskeeping but if I’m honest it was that lovely jacket that first snagged my attention. …

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Cover image for Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan: ‘To get the best out of people, you must always treat them well’

12 November 2021 / 31 Comments

It’s a mystery to me why I’ve not read anything by Claire Keegan before given my predilection for Irish writing, particularly as Cathy over at 746Books has spoken so highly of her work. Small Things Like These is the briefest of novellas, a mere 124 pages with a good deal of white space thrown in …

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Burntcoat by Sarah Hall: ‘Those who tell stories survive’

8 October 2021 / 18 Comments

I swore I wouldn’t read a pandemic novel then ended up reading two before the summer was out. Hard to resist when one of them was Sarah Hall’s Burntcoat which neatly steers clear of our own pandemic, telling the story of Edith who survives the novavirus but knows that her time is limited. As all …

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Blasts from the Past: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (1995)

1 October 2018 / 24 Comments

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. I know I bang on a lot about book jackets but I can’t talk about A Fine Balance …

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Cover image for That They Might Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern

Blasts from the Past: That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern (2001)

1 January 2018 / 12 Comments

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. Last year Cathy from 746 Books was kind enough to ask me to take part in her Books …

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Blasts from the Past: Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam (2004)

30 October 2017 / 10 Comments

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. I remember being deeply impressed with Nadeem Aslam’s writing when I first read Maps for Lost Lovers, not …

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Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney: Mulling things over

16 June 2017 / 19 Comments

This is one of those novels that’s been gathering a head of steam in my neck of the Twitter woods. Not in an off-putting, shouty, endless-stream-of-gushy-tweets way – just enough to pique my interest. It’s a debut from a young Irish author about two best friends – once lovers – who fall into a friendship …

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Blasts from the Past: The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster (1985-6)

8 August 2016 / 19 Comments

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 in as many hands as I could. Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy used to be a handy bellwether for me when talking to bookish …

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The Long Room by Francesca Kay: A study in loneliness and obsession

27 January 2016 / 18 Comments

I’ve been hoping for a new novel from Francesca Kay for quite some time now. I enjoyed both of her previous books which explore the nature of passion – An Equal Stillness looks at the way in which the prosaic everyday grind of marriage and parenthood can stifle creativity while The Translation of Bones examines …

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