Book news, reviews and recommendations
Scarlett Thomas is an idiosyncratic writer several of whose novels I’ve enjoyed, not least the slightly bonkers The Seed Collectors. I was a little disappointed in her last novel but was keen to read The Sleepwalkers when I spotted it on NetGalley. It follows a newly married couple who’ve been booked into a hotel on […]
The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas: Cliffhanging to the end Read More »
Part two of April’s paperback preview is a little less starry than the first instalment with its two prize winners but still full of goodies, a few of which I’ve already read beginning with Polly Samson’s A Theatre for Dreamers. Set in 1960, it’s the story of a group of artists, writers and hedonists drawn
Paperbacks to Look Out For in April 2021: Part Two Read More »
It’s been well over four years since Scarlett Thomas’ The Seed Collectors was published. Since then she’s produced three children’s books. I’d been eyeing the schedules hoping for another adult novel, wondering if her writing career had taken a permanent turn when Oligarchy turned up. This short, biting novel should please Thomas fans with its
Oligarchy by Scarlett Thomas: Sharp, funny and very, very dark Read More »
Back from Portugal – more of which next week – with part two of November’s preview which has its feet firmly placed in Europe with one novel set in Norway, two in Germany, one in France and two in the UK. Let’s work our way south, starting in a remote small town in northern Norway
Books to Look Out For in November 2019: Part Two Read More »
This is the first book I’ve read by André Alexis. His last novel was narrated in the voices of its titular dogs which brought back memories of Paul Auster’s Timbuktu, and not happy ones. That said Fifteen Dogs went on to win the Scotiabank Giller prize in 2015 so what do I know? This latest
The Hidden Keys by André Alexis: A hugely enjoyable, sophisticated caper Read More »
My fourth and final selection begins with an award-winning novel. After differing with both the Baileys and the Man Booker judges I’ve finally found a set I can agree with: the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Of course, they’d made their minds up in June and I only got around to reading Jo Mazelis’ utterly engrossing
Books of the Year 2015: Part 4 Read More »
The Seed Collectors is Scarlett Thomas’s first novel for quite some time. Her idiosyncratic books, several of which flirt with science fiction, seem to attract a passionate following. I’d read only two before this one: The End of Mr Y, about a PhD student’s encounter with a rare edition of a nineteenth-century writer’s book, wandered
The Seed Collectors by Scarlett Thomas: Bursting with ideas Read More »
Long experience has taught me that a ‘lost’ novel is often best kept that way so I won’t be including Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman here. Surely the entire world and its dog must know about it by now, anyway. Instead I thought I’d take a look at a few less trumpeted titles due
Books to Look Out For in July 2015: Part 1 Read More »