In this funny, odd-ball and deeply emotional novel by Japanese debut novelist Sayaka Murata, we follow the book’s heroine Keiko, who is in her late 30’s and is working as a sales assistant in a convenience store, while living unmarried and childless (a mortal sin in Japan).
Category Archives: Book Reviews
Book Review: How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
I didn’t expect much from this book and was delightfully surprised by its immense depth and foresight. ‘How to Do Nothing’ is a profound and glittering jewel about the big topics of politics, internet culture, consumerism, capitalism and consciousness. It takes well-worn assumptions about how you spend your time and the tyrannical monopoly of banal “stuff” on your attention – and then rearranges your brain forever!
Book Review: Nature’s Palette by Thames & Hudson
Do you love nature? do you love colour? If you love these two things then this book is a must-have for your collection. A traditional reference guide originally published in 1814, a beautifully bound and illustrated new version is now available.
Nature’s Palette features all of the hues and colours you can possibly imagine in our green and blue verdant planet. Along with exquisite nature drawings and paintings. Opening this book is like being transported to a more earthy and connected era where nature in all of her splendour was all people knew about sourcing colour. This book is perfect for a gift for the artist you know. Or if you’re an artist, designer, nature-lover or aesthete, I think you would also enjoy it.
Book Review: 2024 Lunar and Seasonal Diary by Stacey Demarco
A practical and full colour diary with regular weekly prompts for star-gazing and constellations, as well as fortuitous times of the pagan year. Designed for pagans dwelling in the southern hemisphere, with calendar timings and celebrations that we make, which are the direct opposite to the traditional Celtic/European traditions.
Book Review: The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
This is my historical fiction pick of the year. The Porpoise is an exhilarating. There are lightning quick gear changes from one time period to another and one mood to another. Yet the cohesive whole of the novel never felt confusing, forced or contrived
Book Review – Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
A mind-bending and time-melting story by the master of surreal storytelling Haruki Murakami. The first strand is the 15 year old Kafka Tamura, a teen runaway who takes refuge in a remote town. The second strand begins with mysterious celestial phenomena in the Shikoku mountains, possibly involving a UFO and a group of kids losing consciousness.
Book Review: Weatherland by Andrea Harris
Weatherland by Alexandra Harris is a sweeping panorama and magic carpet ride through the history of England using a quirky weathervane to measure the changing culture – the weather.
Author Alexandra Harris’ debut book won The Guardian’s Book of the Year. It’s no surprise either because this is a far-reaching, expansive book written in an engaging, poetic and erudite way.
Book Review: Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Egan is author of the sprawling coming-of-age novel A Visit from the Goon Squad which won the Pulitzer Prize. She has written another epic genre-bending novel this time set during WW2 in New York City, it’s immersive, sparkling and exhilarating. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 Genre: Fiction, Adventure, Thriller, Historical Fiction Publisher: Corsair Review in one word: Nostalgic * Contains no spoilersContinue reading “Book Review: Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan”
Book Review: The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall
An engaging and big novel that’s less about wolves, and more about instinct, wildness, independence and sexual connection coupled with big themes like Scottish political independence, class privilege and the UK’s national identity – 4 stars.
Book Review: The Lonely City by Olivia Laing
The Lonely City by Olivia Laing is a mixture of reportage, biography and creative non-fiction. Weaving together strands of history, philosophy and art, Laing explores one of the last taboos of humanity which is loneliness. This is an alarming and at times uncomfortable book to read if you have been or are now lonely. Yet loneliness is common to all of us at some point in our lives. It’s what we seek at all costs to avoid and hide under the rug.
Content Catnip 