Book news, reviews and recommendations
Back from Manchester (more of which next week) with a rare thing for me: a review of a book whose author approached me directly. I tend to politely turn these down to avoid any disappointment or awkwardness but I liked the sound of Clare O’Dea’s Voting Day which follows four women over the course of […]
Voting Day by Clare O’Dea: The importance of having your say Read More »
Lots of brouhaha surrounding Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s My Monticello which, as I know from experience, doesn’t always lead to a satisfying read. I wasn’t entirely sure whether to accept when I was offered a copy but decided to give it a try given it’s a Harvill Secker title, one of my favourite lists. Set against
It’s a mystery to me why I’ve not read anything by Claire Keegan before given my predilection for Irish writing, particularly as Cathy over at 746Books has spoken so highly of her work. Small Things Like These is the briefest of novellas, a mere 124 pages with a good deal of white space thrown in
I seem to have been on a novella roll this year: Wherabouts, Blue Highway, Assembly and Stella to name but four outstanding ones. Jo Hamya’s Three Rooms looked like a possible addition to that list with its premise of a young woman who passes through the titular three rooms, barely scraping a living over the
Three Rooms by Jo Hamya: Just passing through Read More »
Edward Carey’s Little was one of those books I tucked away at the back of my shelves when it arrived. The story of Madame Tussaud, accompanied by a good deal of brouhaha and not published for months, it didn’t immediately appeal. Then Twitter fever started to take off so I decided to give it a
The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey: Geppetto’s story Read More »
This is the second novel in as many months I’ve read about a couple in the aftermath of infidelity. Slightly disconcertingly both husbands were called Jake but although Amanda Craig’s The Golden Rule and Megan Hunter’s The Harpy share some similar themes, stylistically they couldn’t be more different. Since the superb The End We Start
The Harpy by Megan Hunter: Righteous anger Read More »
It was its structure that attracted me to Miranda Popkey’s Topics of Conversation. That and its cover image of two women alongside each other rather than face to face intrigued me. Popkey’s debut tells the story of an unnamed woman through the conversations she has with other women at various points in her life beginning
Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey: ‘Conversation is flirtation’ Read More »
Although I’ve yet to read Hanne Ørstavik’s The Blue Room reviews of it by bloggers whose opinions I trust were enough to convince me that Love was likely to be something special. This spare novella tells the story of Vibeke and her son, Jon, on the eve of his ninth birthday, each, unbeknownst to the
Love by Hanne Ørstavik (transl. Martin Aitken): In the deep midwinter Read More »
I’m not one for dystopian fiction but Body Tourists caught my eye because of its author. I’ve enjoyed several of Jane Rogers’ novels, including her last one, Conrad and Eleanor, which neatly reversed gender roles in the story of a long marriage. Her new novel is set in a near future where scientists have developed
Body Tourists by Jane Rogers: ‘Death where is thy sting’ Read More »
I’m sure there’s going to be more than one of these posts, particularly given Madame Bibliophile Recommends’ novella a day back in May 2018 , then this year’s selection lengthened my tbr list. The first task is to define a novella, something which varies from reader to reader, but for the purposes of this post
Five Novellas I’ve Read Read More »
I’m not sure how I’ve managed to miss Paul Lynch’s writing but as soon as I finished Beyond the Sea I added his previous novels to my list. Lynch’s prose exemplifies that spare, pared-back style which I so admire, one at which Irish writers seem to excel. In his new novella two fishermen are cast
Beyond the Sea by Paul Lynch: Cast adrift Read More »