Book news, reviews and recommendations
It’s almost longlist time for the Women’s Prize for Fiction although it hardly seems five minutes since the last one. Wednesday March 4th is the date to add your diary. Only novels written by women in English published between April 1st, 2025, and March 31st, 2026, qualify. I’ve followed the same format as previous years, […]
My Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026 Wish List Read More »
I was delighted when Sarah Moss’s Ripeness popped through my letter box. It’s the eighth book by her I’ve reviewed on this blog, starting way back in 2013 with her Icelandic memoir, Names for the Sea. This new one sees a woman in her seventies remembering the months she spent in Italy as a seventeen-year-old
Ripeness by Sarah Moss: ‘Life has no form, you don’t get to choose.’ Read More »
The second instalment of May’s new fiction begins with a novel by one of my favourite writers. Sarah Moss’s Ripeness sees a woman in her seventies remembering the months she spent in Italy as a seventeen-year-old in the 1960s. Edith is the child of a Derbyshire hill farmer and a refugee whose family disappeared in
Books to Look Out For in May 2025: Part Two Read More »
Much of my reading can be described as contemporary fiction but I sometimes stick my toe in the historical fiction water. I was convinced that was a rare occurrence but, apparently, I’ve read enough to put together several of these posts spread across different centuries. I should start off in the twentieth century but that
Five Novels Set in the Nineteenth Century I’ve Read Read More »
Both eye-catching new fiction and paperbacks are a bit thin on the ground for me this October although there are some gems to be found not least Sarah Moss’ The Fell which takes place over a single night during 2020’s November lockdown. Desperate to escape her constant money worries and the rehearsals of her many
Paperbacks to Look Out For in October 2022 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 »
We’re on the final straight which is chock full of novellas crammed into October and November thanks to my new found (relative) freedom which included a week in Edinburgh and another short break in London. I was in two minds about accepting my first October pick. Lauren Groff’s Matrix is a reimagining of the life
Books of the Year 2021: Part Four 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 »
A pleasing two-parter preview for November’s new fiction, the first of which begins with one I’ve already read. I had no intention of reading a pandemic novel, having had enough of it in real life, but then Sarah Moss’ The Fell turned up so that idea went out of the window. Just as her previous
Books to Look Out For in November 2021: Part One Read More »
I’ve a feeling if I continue reading as many fine novellas as I have over the past few years, I may have to include an entry on this blog’s menu devoted to them. I’m a great fan of economy of style, leaving much unsaid for readers to infer, which makes the form tailor made for
Five More Novellas I’ve Read Read More »
A multitude of paperback goodies to look out for this June, several of which fell foul of the pandemic-induced schedule changes that have bedevilled both authors and publishers for well over a year, including the paperback edition of Emma Forrest’s Royals delayed since June 2020. Forrest’s novel is about a working-class Jewish boy drawn into
Paperbacks to Look Out For in June 2021: Part One Read More »