Book news, reviews and recommendations
The second part of January’s preview kicks off with one for which I’m hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Louise Welsh has followed The Second Cut, her excellent sequel to The Cutting Room, which picked up Rilke’s story two decades on, with a third instalment. The Cut Up sees Rilke deciding to […]
Books to Look Out For in January 2026: Part Two Read More »
Having written a couple of these posts on Irish fiction, it’s time for a few Scottish favourites, some written in such rich dialect I could hear it as I read. There’s a real skill to that kind of writing as anyone who’s read a cringe-makingly poor version of it will know. Here then are five
Five Scottish Novels I’ve Read Read More »
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 – Long Island to The Lodgers Read More »
Having enjoyed last January’s The Second Cut, Louise Welsh’s sequel to The Cutting Room, I couldn’t resist To the Dogs, particularly after visiting Glasgow in June. Welsh’s new novel follows ambitious vice chancellor Jim Brennan, called away from Beijing when his son is arrested on a drugs charge. He had forgotten how afraid he had
To the Dogs by Louise Welsh: ‘Corruption doesn’t happen in a vacuum’ Read More »
The second part of January’s preview starts with a crime novel, an uncharacteristic choice for me. I enjoyed Louise Welsh’s The Second Cut so much last year that I put up my hand for To the Dogs which also has a foot in Glasgow’s murky underworld. Professor Jim Brennan is called away from a graduation
Books to Look Out For in January 2024: Part Two Read More »
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 – Hydra to Vacuum in the Dark Read More »
Lots of paperback goodies to look out for this February, several tried and tested by me beginning with Louise Welsh’s The Second Cut, published twenty years after her brilliant debut, The Cutting Room, starred the unforgettable Rilke, given to dicey sexual encounters in Glasgow parks by night, mixing with morally dubious individuals in his job
Paperbacks to Look Out For in February 2023: Part One Read More »
This year continued the move back towards normality for me. H and I finally managed to take both the holidays abroad we’d booked for 2020 and there was much more socialising and getting out and about. We’re going to the cinema again (easy to lose touch when you don’t see the trailers) but I’ve realised
Books of the Year 2022: Part One Read More »
It only seems a blink of an eye since the announcement of the last Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, or at least that’s how it feels to me. Nevertheless, it is that time again and Tuesday, 8th March is the date to add your diary should you be as keen as I am on this
My Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 Wishlist Read More »
I was the reviews editor at Waterstone’s Books Quarterly when Louise Welsh’s The Cutting Room was published 20 years ago. I wasn’t particularly inclined to read it, not being a crime fiction fan, but of course needed to for work and what a treat I’d have missed if I hadn’t. The star of the show
The Second Cut by Louise Welsh: Rilke’s return Read More »
Here we go again – new year, well almost, and shiny new books too salivate over, beginning with one I’ve already read. Susan Stokes-Chapman’s much-trailed debut, Pandora, is set in Georgian London in the final year of the 18th century. This tale of orphans, evil uncles, stolen antiquities and ancient curses sees Dora trying to
Books to Look Out for in January 2022: Part One Read More »