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 Harrisβ debut book won The Guardianβs Book of the Year. Itβs no surprise either because this is a far-reaching, expansive book written in an engaging, poetic and erudite way.
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:Β πππ Genre:Β Fiction, Adventure, Thriller, Historical Fiction Publisher:Β Corsair Review in one word:Β Nostalgic * Contains no spoilersContinue reading “Book Review: Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan”
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.
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.
A deeply harrowing, terrifying, funny, beautiful and relatable tale of a young woman coming to terms with her past and the ghosts that she carries inside.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a Botanist and an indigenous woman of the Potawatomi Nation in Braiding Sweetgrass she weaves together the two strands of indigenous wisdom and scientific understanding to create a wonderous union of the two forms of knowledge.
Rating: ππππ Publisher: Text publishing. Genre: Fiction, psychological thriller. Review in one word: Perky Scottish writer Graeme Macrae Burnet is the author of one of the best Scottish crime novels ever written His Bloody Project, which I have reviewed on this blog before. Burnet’s new book is yet another step back in time and anotherContinue reading “Book Review: Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet”
Rating: ππππ Genre: Non-Fiction, Feminism, Sociology, Philosophy, Sexuality. Publisher: Picador Review in one word: Provocative This is a fascinating, provocative and stirring book. It enrages and stimulates in equal measure and will make you think differently about the world if you are a woman or if you are a man then you will come to understand the disturbing waysContinue reading “Book Review: Something out of Place, Women and Disgust by Eimear McBride”
Rating: πππππ Genre: Fiction, Coming of Age Novel, Historical Novel. Publisher: Faber & Faber Review in one word: Halcyon (and On and On) *Contains no spoilers This is both an unsentimental and deeply emotional novel, a book about past, present and future friendship set over the course of 30 years. It’s beautifully written, witty, funny and like a sweeping,Continue reading “Book Review: Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan”
Rating: πππππ Genre: Fiction, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Outsider Fiction. Publisher: Canongate Review in one word: Triumphant *Contains no spoilers Annie Perry is an indomitable, strong and likeable main character. She is born into the muddy drudgery and coal mines of Tipton in the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution. Annie is born into an extremely poor Romi family andContinue reading “Book Review: Featherweight by Mick Kitson”
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