Book news, reviews and recommendations
I’m not a Mahler fan but put up my hand as soon as I spotted Robert Seethaler’s brief novella, The Last Movement, which sees the composer on his last transatlantic voyage to Europe, a few months before his death. I’ve read all four of Seethaler’s translated novels, beginning with A Whole Life over a decade […]
I reviewed Ben Lerner’s novella 10:04 here over a decade ago, commenting on its many-layered interconnections, impossible to encapsulate in a short post. Since then, I’ve read Leaving the Atocha Station which brought him a great deal of acclaim although, for me, it didn’t match 10.04. Divided into three parts, Transcription is another brief novel
Transcription by Ben Lerner: A characteristically discursive novella Read More »
Having enjoyed Voting Day, Clare O’Dea’s debut, I was delighted to be send a copy of Before the Leaves Fall. Both novels are set in Switzerland where she lives and both are published by Fairlight Books, a small indie who also publish one of my favourite writers, Douglas Bruton. As you may have gathered from
Before the Leaves Fall by Clare O’Dea: Choosing when to die Read More »
The blurb for Anika Jade Levy’s Flat Earth suggested an interesting contrast between two friends who meet at a liberal arts college – one looks set for success, the other adrift and unable to make anything stick. Set against the backdrop of the New York art world, Levy’s debut opens with Avery and Frances driving
Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy: A bleakly funny novella Read More »
I’d not read anything by Benjamin Wood when Seascraper was pitched to me. It’s his fourth book but this is his first novella, beautifully packaged with a cover that fits it well. Set sometime in the 1950s, it takes place over a single day which sees Thomas Flett lifted out of his hardscrabble life for
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood: Vividly atmospheric Read More »
When I’m feeling particularly depressed about the state of the world, I remind myself that equal marriage has been enshrined in law for over a decade here in the UK and has been legalised in many other countries. Set in a small Welsh village in the late 1980s, not so very long ago, Anthony Shapland’s
A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland: A love story Read More »
Douglas Bruton’s With or Without Angels and Hope Never Knew Horizon both made it on to my books of the year list. He writes about art, creativity and love in an original, engagingly imaginative way. Even before reading Woman in Blue I was pretty sure it would be landing alongside this year’s favourites. As many
Woman in Blue by Douglas Bruton: ‘He loves me, he loves me not’ Read More »
I’ve had mixed experiences with Tessa Hadley’s novels. I enjoyed Late in the Day but others I’ve read have left little impression on me. I’ve often thought her short fiction would suit me better so put up my hand for The Party. Hadley’s written many short stories, but this is her first novella which sees
The Party by Tessa Hadley: Coming of age in post-war Britain Read More »
Fire is the third in John Boyne’s novella series preceded by Water and Earth both of which I’ve reviewed. It follows Freya, already an eminent surgeon at thirty-six, living alone in a luxurious flat, once the home of a footballer who she helped convict of rape as a jurist. Since my twelfth summer, I have
Fire by John Boyne: Are abusers born or made? Read More »
I was intrigued when I spotted John Boyne’s Water in The Bookseller, billed as the first in a series of four interlinked novellas each named after the elements, something of a departure from his usual doorstoppers of which I’ve read and enjoyed several including his last, The Echo Chamber. It begins with a woman arriving
Water by John Boyne: First in a series Read More »
It was its structure that attracted me to Ore Agbaje-Williams’ debut. Set over one day, The Three of Us is told from three points of view: a wife, a husband and the best friend who has known the wife since school. Lots of room there for unreliable narrators and tense relationship dynamics. She was the