Book news, reviews and recommendations
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. Bit of an uncharacteristic choice for me, this one: not only is it a piece of crime fiction […]
Blasts from the Past: The Alienist by Caleb Carr (1994) Read More »
When I included Moonstone in one of my June previews I was surprised when several people picked up on it, already acquainted with Sjón’s writing either through a previous novel or from songs he’d written with Björk. He’s a talented guy: an award-winning novelist, poet, playwright and librettist. I wish I could say that I
Moonstone by Sjón (transl. Victoria Cribb): The Boy Who Never Was Read More »
Regular readers may have gathered by now how I feel about Twitter hype. All too often it leads to disappointment. Having already read and admired After Me Comes the Flood, though, it seemed likely that at least some of the love being poured on Sara Perry’s second novel was entirely genuine, and so it proved
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry: A surefire prize winner Read More »
As regular readers may have noticed, I tend to bang on a bit about book jackets. They’re the first thing a reader sees after all, the first step along the way to reading a book – or not. Suzanne Joinson’s novel is a fine example of getting it right: the cover’s striking and it fits
The Photographer’s Wife by Suzanne Joinson: Echoes of The Go-Between in Jerusalem, 1920 Read More »