Book news, reviews and recommendations
Part two of June’s paperback preview begins with one of my 2025 favourites. Opening in the early 2000s, Alexander Starritt’s Drayton and Mackenzie follows two very different men. Driven and intensely competitive, even with himself, James is the affable, indolent Roland’s antithesis. He’s a rising star with McKinsey’s consultancy, set on becoming their youngest partner;
Paperbacks to Look Out For in June 2026: Part Two Read More »
This is my second post on the theme of long relationships, offering a rather more negative view than the first apart from the last novel which takes an unusual approach along the lines of roads not travelled. All have links to longer reviews on my blog. We know from the start of Philip Teir’s novel
Five More Novels About Long Relationships I’ve Read Read More »
It’s ten years since I reviewed Laura Barnett’s The Versions of Us which, rereading my review, I obviously enjoyed but never got around to reading anything else by her. She writes absorbing, well turned-out fiction, tending towards the commercial end of the scale. Her new novel follows a group of six friends over the year
Births, Deaths & Marriages by Laura Barnett: A celebration of friendship Read More »
I’ve read all but two from June’s first batch of new fiction beginning with a novel I snapped up as soon as it appeared on NetGalley. Boogie was only eighteen when their rackety mother left her two daughters with him in Wendy Erksine’s The Benefactors. He raised them both, never distinguishing between Misty and his
Books to Look Out For in June 2025: Part One Read More »
All sorts of different things attract me to a novel – mention of spare writing in a blurb, fiction by poets, the book’s setting or a favourite theme to name but a few. Sometimes it’s structure. A dual narrative handled well always hits the spot, as does catching up with a group of friends who
Five Novels I’ve Read with Unusual Structures Read More »
Here we go again and in my middle-aged way I can’t believe it’s that time already. The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist is due to be announced next Tuesday. Only novels written by women in English published between April 1st 2015 and March 31st 2016 qualify for the award. It’s one of the few
My wish list for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2016 Read More »
One of the best commercial novels I read last year was Laura Barnett’s The Versions of Us. It explores the idea that our lives are shaped by chance and random acts as much as by the choices we make, following three possible lives for a couple who meet when they’re nineteen. I loved the idea
Used to Be by Elizabeth Baines: More than One Way to Tell a Story Read More »
My fourth and final selection begins with an award-winning novel. After differing with both the Baileys and the Man Booker judges I’ve finally found a set I can agree with: the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Of course, they’d made their minds up in June and I only got around to reading Jo Mazelis’ utterly engrossing
Books of the Year 2015: Part 4 Read More »
Despite the uncertainty of the weather here in the UK I seem to have veered off into summer reading territory this week with the previous post on The Sunlit Night and now this one. Laura Barnett’s new novel stands out a mile in the publishing schedules as that precious thing: a strong commercial novel, cleverly
The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett: The three faces of Eva and Jim Read More »
Quite a mixed bunch for this second batch of June goodies. I’ll start off with what is probably my most commercial choice as we edge towards summer reading: Laura Barnett’s enticing sounding The Versions of Us which explores that old Sliding Doors idea of the role chance plays in our lives. It unfolds three different
Books to Look Out For in June 2015: Part 2 Read More »