Book news, reviews and recommendations
I missed Commitment in hardback, knowing it would require time, thought and attention that I didn’t have when it was due to be published, but unusually, Mona Simpson’s American publicist contacted me, and I suggested a review for the UK paperback publication. Beginning in the early ’70s, it tells the story of the Aziz family […]
Commitment by Mona Simpson: Coming of age in difficult times Read More »
I remember choosing not to read New Zealand writer Anna Smaill’s Man Booker longlisted debut The Chimes thinking it sounded a little too fantastical for me, although I may well overcome that objection having read her new novel, Bird Life. Set in Tokyo, it’s the story of two women, both suffering terrible loss, each seeing
Bird Life by Anna Smaill: A beautiful novel of madness and grief Read More »
First published in 1999, Lisa Zeidner’s Layover may well be appearing on the big screen starring Penelope Cruz as Claire, its main protagonist, although when that might be seems a little hazy which means we’re spared one of those off-putting film tie-in jackets. It’s been reissued in the UK by the English language imprint of
Layover by Lisa Zeidner: An episode of madness Read More »
Much lauded by the likes of Peter Carey and Colum McCann, Adam Haslett’s Imagine Me Gone is a nuanced portrait of a family trying to cope with the emotional depredations caused by not one but two of its members grappling with mental illness. It follows the family from its beginnings when Margaret and John meet
Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett: The ties that bind stretched too far Read More »