Book Review: The Isle of Dogs by Daniel Davies

The Isle of Dogs is a strange slippery novel that plunges deep into the sexual underbelly of #Britain. The Isle of Dogs explores sexual encounters between anonymous people in the shadows and margins of a surveillance-heavy society. #Sex #Sexuality #Novel #Book #BookReview #Review #DanielDavies #IsleofDogs

Book Review: Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

*No spoilers A book about experimental archaeology and family violence that’s brimming with glorious dread and that closes in around you like a vice. The novel’s short 160 pages are absolutely electrifying and seem far bigger. Best enjoyed during the witching hours of 11pm and 3 am. Ghost Wall opens with an ancient hair-raising scene,Continue reading “Book Review: Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss”

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: 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: Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan

Rating: πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ 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”

Book Review: Featherweight by Mick Kitson

Rating: πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ 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”

Book Review: Elmet by Fiona Mozley

A dark, crepuscular and gripping Yorkshire thriller about family and loyalty that is timeless, lyrical and immensely satisfying. Rating: πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ Genre: Fiction, Gothic Noir, Yorkshire Noir, Thriller Publisher: Algonquin Books Review in one word: Stygian This debut book by Fiona Mozley was short-listed to win the Booker Prize in 2017 and it is easy to see why. This bookContinue reading “Book Review: Elmet by Fiona Mozley”

Book Review: The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss

* No Spoilers Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 “We all live in patterns we do not see. We are all following magic ravens, even when we are lost. Otherwise there would be no story.” ~ Sarah Moss, The Tidal Zone. Sarah Moss is now my favourite writer. She seems to be a occupied with the lives of women.Continue reading “Book Review: The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss”

Book Review: The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris

This is an electrifying book about the history of surgery from the point of view of one of its pioneers, Joseph Lister. A humble and unassuming Quaker, Lister managed to rise up through the ranks of Edinburgh’s medical community and gained a reputation along the way for his serious dedication to experimentation and the empatheticContinue reading “Book Review: The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris”

Ancient word of the day: Adder

Snakes, serpents, vipers, adders – they all convey ancient power of life over death, of emerging in ones full power to take back what belongs to them, of transformation and return. A potent ancestral spirit and augur from the Land of the Dead. Adder The Adder Vipera berus is the only venomous snake in Britain.Continue reading “Ancient word of the day: Adder”