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”
Tag Archives: fiction
Book Review: Featherweight by Mick Kitson
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”
Book Review: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
The surreal tale of a 100 year old man named Allan Karlsson who on his 100th birthday abandons his drooling and dottery compadres in a retirement home and skips town for an intriguing and unexpected adventure. Rating: πππππ Genre: Fiction, Adventure, Black Comedy, Thriller, Action. Publisher: Picador Review in one word: Playful Loads has been written about this book.Continue reading “Book Review: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson”
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: ππππ 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: Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems Vol. 1
Spiritually nourishing and grounded in the slow rumblings of nature and animals, Mary Oliver’s poems are a salve for the restless and jaded soul. Her poems are steeped in the luminescent beauty of nature and timeless wisdom of land and animals, yet she always has her bare feet planted deeply in the soil Rating: πππππ Genre: Poetry,Continue reading “Book Review: Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems Vol. 1”
Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Rating: ππ Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction. Publisher: Canongate Books Review in one word: Fluff A lot of people raved and hyped about this book and a friend recommended this to me, because he spent a long night in the cafe reading it. This is an indulgent, compulsive and enjoyable read, sort of likeContinue reading “Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig”
Book Review: The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
Rating: ππππ Publisher: Faber & Faber Genre: Fiction, Psychological thriller, Literary Fiction. Review in one word: Subconscious Originally published in Dutch and winning the Man Booker International Prize in 2018, Lucas Rijneveld’s debut novel captures in bloody, beastly and corporeal detail the lives of a dysfunctional farming family in the rural Netherlands, some time inContinue reading “Book Review: The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld”
Book Review: Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction Rating: πππππ Islands of Mercy is a masterful book by the author of other historical fiction classics such as Restoration, Music and Silence and Merival. I have loved all of these books so I had a feeling (and rightfully so) that I would really enjoy this book. Set in Victorian eraContinue reading “Book Review: Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain”
Book Review: One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery. Rating: β β β β Publisher: Black Swan Publishing *No spoilers. Set in Edinburgh during the height of the Edinburgh Festival, this is a mystery where various characters are intertwined and nested together in a complex and entertaining way. It begins with a road-rage incident that is witnessed in the CowContinue reading “Book Review: One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson”
Book Review: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction. Rating: β β β β β Publisher: Virago Press *No spoilers. This is a magnificent journey into Renaissance Florence that you can sink into like imbibing a glass of Chianti. Itβs the story of Alessandra Cecci, a precocious and intelligent 15 year old girl who adores painting and lives in RenaissanceContinue reading “Book Review: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant”
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