Book news, reviews and recommendations
I’ve had mixed experiences with Tessa Hadley’s novels. I enjoyed Late in the Day but others I’ve read have left little impression on me. I’ve often thought her short fiction would suit me better so put up my hand for The Party. Hadley’s written many short stories, but this is her first novella which sees […]
The Party by Tessa Hadley: Coming of age in post-war Britain Read More »
It was its setting that initially attracted me to Clare Clark’s In the Full Light of the Sun. I’m a sucker for novels set in my favourite cities: New York, Amsterdam and, in this case, Berlin. Based on the case of Otto Wacker, Clark’s novel explores the machinations of the self-regarding art world taken in
In the Full Light of the Sun by Clare Clark: A grand hoodwinking Read More »
I’ve yet to read The Door, Madga Szabó’s best known novel, and I made the mistake of reading Iza’s Ballad on holiday, failing to give it the quiet attention it needed. Nothing to distract me from Katalin Street, enjoyable or otherwise. First published in 1969, it explores the aftermath of the Second World War through
Katalin Street by Madga Szabó (transl. Len Rix): The past is another country Read More »
Rachel Malik’s debut has been sitting on my shelves waiting to be reviewed for quite some time. I was sent a copy a few months after its hardback publication when Malik approached me and I warily agreed to look at it. I’ve learned my lesson in this respect but an old friend had reviewed the
Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves by Rachel Malik: ’We were rich…’ Read More »
The theme of adults manipulating children isn’t an unusual one in fiction – Atonement and The Go-Between are obvious examples – but the setting of Tony Peake’s new novel stood out for me. In it a man in his sixties has returned to South Africa where he was at boarding school, remembering the events which
North Facing by Tony Peake: A South African atonement Read More »
Alex Christofi’s Let Us Be True is one of those books I’m delighted was sent my way. I’m not sure I would have happened upon it otherwise but it turned out to be absorbing, insightful and beautifully written. Largely set in Paris during the middle of the twentieth century, it’s the story of Ralf who
Let Us Be True by Alex Christofi: A story about love Read More »