Book news, reviews and recommendations
I’d read and enjoyed Paula Cocozza’s debut, How to Be Human, back in 2017 but it was the enthusiasm of Rebecca at Bookish Beck that persuaded me to read her second novel. It also has an appealing premise, a riff on the social media theme which has emerged in fiction over the past few years. […]
Speak to Me by Paula Cocozza: ‘There are three of us in this marriage’ Read More »
It was Nickolas Butler’s ringing endorsement that sold Ash Davidson’s Damnation Spring to me. The cover suggested it might have the same gorgeous descriptions of the American landscape I’d loved in his Shotgun Lovesongs and Godspeed. Spanning a single year from 1977-78, Davidson’s tale of environmental despoilation is set in a small Californian community where
Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson: Profit trumps all Read More »
I’m sure readers will have gathered that Naomi Ishiguro is the daughter of Kazuo by now, although that’s not the reason I wanted to read Common Ground. She was once a bookseller at my lovely local indie, Mr B’s, which piqued my interest, that and a glowing quote from Rowan Hisayo Buchanan adorning its rather
Common Ground by Naomi Ishiguro: ‘Solidarity and friendship’ Read More »
If you inhabit the same neck of the Twitter woods I do, you may have spotted Jeanine Cummins’ American Dirt some time ago. It’s one of those books that’s been trailed for many months which usually presses my sceptical button but I have to say it’s the real deal. This extraordinary novel explores the theme
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins: Written from the heart Read More »
I’m sure most of you have already heard of The Immortalists. It’s been everywhere in my neck of the Twitter woods, not something that always bodes well. It’s been on my own radar for so long I can’t even remember how it got there but I suspect it was the very clever hook on which
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin: Living or merely surviving? Read More »
This was the first book I read for review after coming back from my hols. I was looking for something uncomplicated, nothing very taxing, and Stephanie Bishop’s novel with its gold-type adorned jacket looked like it might fit the bill but it took me by surprise. The Other Side of the World turns out to
The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop: An Unexpected Treat Read More »
I’m not easily swayed by those author quotes you see adorning book jackets – some writers seem to be a little too free and easy with their praise for me – but, as regular readers will know, so enamoured am I of Nickolas Butler’s Shotgun Lovesongs that a fulsome quote from him makes me sit
The Mountain Can Wait by Sarah Leipciger: The real deal Read More »
It’s time for another issue of the wonderful Shiny New Books, stuffed full of interviews, articles and reviews by some of my favourite bloggers and this ones a celebratory issue: it’s their first birthday. Such a lot of hard work, energy and talent have been poured into this project. It’s been a delight to be
A Place Called Winter and Happy Birthday Shiny New Books Read More »
Now there’s a title certain to be mangled in bookshops throughout the land and a brave one for a debut. I wonder if Judy Chicurel’s publishers tried to talk her out of it. It’s the title of the final chapter of the book whose meaning becomes clear towards its end. Set in the summer of
I’ve a weakness for Irish writers many of whom seem to specialise in spare, almost terse yet elegant prose from which the occasional lyrical gem shines out. Colm Tóibín, John McGahern and William Trevor – whose The Story of Lucy Gault is one of the saddest books I’ve ever read – are amongst my favourite
Black Lake by Johanna Lane: A sad story, quietly told Read More »
Last week was the first birthday of Tinder Press, an imprint of Headline publishers. I remember being excited by the first clutch of titles they published and thought them very canny in transferring Maggie O’Farrell from the Headline Review imprint to Tinder for their launch title, Instructions for a Heatwave. I think they’ve every reason
The Snapper by Brian Kimberling and The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh Read More »