Book news, reviews and recommendations
At first glance the blurb for Chetna Maroo’s Western Lane didn’t appeal with its mention of squash courts but it’s published by one of my favourite imprints so when it popped through my letterbox, I decided to give it a try. Maroo’s quietly perceptive debut follows a family, paralysed by grief and an inability to […]
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo: A grief observed Read More »
I’m not entirely sure what made me choose Laurent Petitmangin’s What You Need from the Night. Perhaps it was because it’s been quite some time since I’ve read a French novel, or maybe the cover persuaded me with its laughing little boy on his father’s shoulders although the blurb made it clear it wouldn’t be
I’m more of a novella than a chunkster reader but now and again one comes along that sounds irresistible. Despite the inevitable comparisons with Succession, which I didn’t get on with at all, Sarah May’s twenty-first century take on William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, looked as though it would fit that bill with its story of
Becky by Sarah May: ’When it comes to the past, I enjoy being flexible with the truth’ Read More »
I was intrigued by Hernan Diaz’s ambitious, complicated novel when I spotted it on Twitter, presented as a ‘literary puzzle’. That eye-catching cover might have had something to do with it, too. It sounded like the kind of book that could fall flat on its face but I put up my hand for a proof.
Trust by Hernan Diaz: ‘Bending and aligning reality’ Read More »
It was that cover that caught my eye on Twitter. Something about the title’s sharp angles. Then I saw it was billed as a campus satire so put up my hand. I’m the partner of an academic so find this niche genre very enjoyable. So often they’re written by authors getting something off their chest.
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou: A case of mistaken identity Read More »
I’m on a winning streak with Irish women authors this year. I’m sure to hit a dud eventually but Niamh Mulvey’s debut, Hearts and Bones, certainly isn’t it. This slim collection comprising ten stories comes with a subtitle which sets the tone, echoed by that brilliant jacket, as its narrators, mostly women, look back at
Both its blurb and that empty chair on its cover warned me that Sarah Manguso’s Very Cold People was likely to be a bleak read but it was also what attracted me to this brief novella. Set in a small New England town, buttoned up and demarcated between rich and poor, Very Cold People sees
Very Cold People by Sarah Manguso: ‘I felt indistinct, like someone else’s dream’ Read More »
It’s unlikely that readers won’t already know about Booker Prize-winning Douglas Stuart’s new novel. Young Mungo has been all over my Twitter timeline for months. Despite the usual reservations about second novels, I was champing at the bit for a copy then circled around it in the same way I did with Shuggie Bain, suspecting
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart: ‘He had so little to fear now’ Read More »
I read the Stinging Fly Press edition of Wendy Erskine’s Sweet Home a while ago mainly because I’ve yet to read anything published by them that hasn’t impressed. I enjoyed its quiet stories of everyday people very much which is what made me put up my hand for Dance Move and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve
Dance Move by Wendy Erskine: Quiet brilliance Read More »
I was delighted to spot Lily King’s Five Tuesdays in Winter on Twitter having enjoyed both Writers & Lovers and Father of the Rain. It’s her first short story collection, comprising ten pieces many of which explore themes of love, relationships and parenthood, some with a darker edge than I remember from her novels. He
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King: Astute observation plus a few dark surprises Read More »
I had no intention of reading a pandemic novel having had enough of it in real life then Sarah Moss’ The Fell was announced, a sweet surprise as Summerwater was published less than eighteen months ago. Just as Summerwater spans a single day in the lives of a group of holidaymakers in Scotland, The Fell
The Fell by Sarah Moss: ‘Life, then, to be lived, somehow’ Read More »