Book news, reviews and recommendations
Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six others to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the titles on the list, […]
Six Degrees of Separation – Kairos to The Night Guest Read More »
I’ve read all but one of the novels in the first part February’s paperback preview, not all of them typical of my usual taste in fiction but that’s not such a bad thing. I’m kicking off with one which should have been the perfect read for me but about which I had mixed feelings. I
Paperbacks to Look Out For in February 2024: Part One Read More »
I wasn’t at all sure about reading Fiona McFarlane’s The Sun Walks Down – it’s an historical novel weighing in at just over 400 pages, two things which usually put me off but I’d enjoyed both The Night Guest and The High Places very much so decided to take the plunge. Set in September 1883,
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane: Third time not so lucky Read More »
I’m not one for memes but Six Degrees of Separation, hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best, is one I’ve come to eagerly anticipate on other blogs so I thought I’d stick my toe in the water. It works like this: each month, a book is chosen as a starting point
Six Degrees of Separation – from Shopgirl to Shotgun Lovesongs #6Degrees Read More »
I’m writing this review in March, long before the book’s publication date which is unusual for me but after being struck down by a particularly nasty bug leaving me with a head so stuffed full of cotton wool that I was unable to read for four days I needed a way back in. Short stories
The High Places by Fiona McFarlane: An inventive, disquieting collection Read More »
There’s been a great deal of buzz about this book, stretching as far back as the beginning of the year I seem to remember. I always think about the author when that happens. Such a whipping up of anticipation must feel like a great deal of pressure, particularly when you’re a young writer and it’s
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey: Leavened with some much needed humour Read More »
Old women are not a particularly common subject for contemporary fiction. They’ve been memorably portrayed in several books I’ve read by established authors – Helen Dunmore’s Enid in Burning Bright, Liz Jensen’s Gloria in War Crimes for the Home and Lesley Glaister’s Trixie in The Private Parts of Women for instance, and Angela Carter’s sassy
The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane: Tiger, tiger burning in the night Read More »