Book news, reviews and recommendations
I’ve been reading Anna Quindlen’s quietly perceptive novels for years, wondering if she might get the Elizabeth Strout style recognition she deserves here in the UK. It didn’t happen with either Still Life with Breadcrumbs or Alternate Side but perhaps it will with After Annie which spans the year after Annie Brown’s death, following her […]
After Annie by Anna Quindlen: ‘There’s no right or wrong way to grieve’ Read More »
I snapped up Hari Kunzru’s Blue Ruin on NetGalley, attracted by its art theme. I’ve read and enjoyed several of his previous novels including White Tears which explored racism through the New York music scene. His new novel’s set in 2020, just months after the pandemic had much of the world in lockdown including an
Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru: Never mind the art, show us the money Read More »
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 »
I took a chance on Paul Yoon’s collection The Hive and the Honey, not having come across this Korean American author before. Comprising seven stories, it ranges far and wide across time and continents exploring Korean experiences of displacement and identity. As ever, I’ll pick out my favourites although almost all deserve a mention. I
The Hive and the Honey by Paul Yoon: A quietly striking collection Read More »
I’m not sure who tweeted their happiness about receiving a proof of Lynn Steger Strong’s Flight having enjoyed her fiction before but I’m grateful to them. That lovely, understated cover also added to its allure. Set in snowy New York state, Strong’s novel follows three siblings and their families facing their first Christmas without their
Flight by Lynn Steger Strong: In the bleak mid-winter Read More »