Book news, reviews and recommendations
I’ve yet to read any of the books in April’s first preview post including the one I’m kicking off with, likely one of the biggest titles of 2024. I tend towards literary rather than commercial fiction but David Nicholls’ writing always hits the spot for me. His new one, You Are Here, sees Marnie feeling […]
Books to Look Out For in April 2024: Part One Read More »
With the exception of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, I’m not such an avid follower of literary prizes as I once was although I can’t seem to resist speculating about the Booker. That said, this year’s shortlist is making me think I need to keep an eye on the Rathbones Folio Prize, two titles from
Paperbacks to Look Out For in May 2022: Part One Read More »
When I first started this year’s Booker Prize wish list, I found it a bit of a struggle. Several of the books I’ve loved most this year have been translations – Jhumpa Lahiri’s Wherabouts, for instance – and obviously those don’t qualify. Then I read a novel I wanted to include at the last minute
My 2021 Booker Wish List Read More »
I included Sunjeev Sahota’s The Year of the Runaways in my Five Books I’ve Read post about immigrants, having enjoyed it very much. About a group of economic migrants, it was notable for its empathetic portrayal of their precarious lives. His new novel, China Room, interweaves two stories, both set in the Punjab: the first
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota: The price of love Read More »
We’ll soon be hurtling into summer reading territory with blockbusters aplenty to read somewhere other than beside a foreign pool again this year, although they may not appear on this blog. I’m more partial to a well turned out novella. I’m kicking off May’s second new fiction preview with an author whose writing often has
Books to Look Out For in May 2021: Part Two Read More »
I’ve travelled a reasonable amount but I’ve never lived anywhere except my own country. Perhaps that’s why I’m so fascinated by the immigrant experience. There’s been a wave of fiction exploring the plight of refugees recently but all except one of the five novels below are about choosing to move to country rather than fleeing
Five Novels I’ve Read About Immigrants Read More »
The first batch of February paperbacks kicked off with one of my books of 2015 as does the second: Sara Taylor’s The Shore which I was delighted to see on both the Baileys Prize longlist and the newly resurrected Sunday Times/Peters Fraser and Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award shortlist last year. The novel is
Paperbacks to Look Out For in February 2016: Part 2 Read More »
You may have dim memories of this particular literary prize. It’s been in abeyance for several years but has just been relaunched with an announcement of the shortlist for this year’s award. Contenders must be writers of literary fiction, non-fiction or poetry, aged thirty-five and under. Past performance suggests that previous judges have had a