Some books are so brilliant, they’re difficult to put down. Sometimes the opposite is true, too. A novel can be so powerful that it can’t be rushed, so important that I need to… Continue reading
My experience of Zadie Smith’s writing has been extreme. When the world went crazy for her debut, White Teeth (2000), I just didn’t feel the love, but I was persuaded to give Smith another… Continue reading
I’ve been meaning to break my Graham Greene duck for a long time so I was delighted when The Quiet American was picked as my bookgroup’s book choice for last month. Also, it gives… Continue reading
It’s been a while since I read the first novel by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, Roseanna, and as I’ve abandoned myself to my current craving for crime, I thought I’d dig out the… Continue reading
Feeling in need of some escapism in the wake of recent political events, I thought I’d swan off to the tropical heat and swaying palms of the South Sea Islands – in my… Continue reading
It’s not often that I’m lost for words, but I’ve been struggling with how to begin writing about Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being. My mind has been completely blown by it. In… Continue reading
Pétronille by Amélie Nothomb (2014, translation by Alison Anderson) was this month’s reading choice for my book group. While her parents are Belgian, Nothomb was born in Japan but currently lives in Paris.… Continue reading
The steady rise of the far right since the financial crisis of 2008 has been one of the most frequent causes of my insomnia. I might not sleep any better, but I want… Continue reading
Having read several reviews of Han Kang’s writing, I suspected that I was in for a disturbing time with The Vegetarian. I was right. The novel, translated from Korean into English by Deborah Smith, contains… Continue reading
I’m not sure where or when I picked up a copy of Elizabeth Von Arnim’s ‘The Enchanted April’. I’m always on the look-out for the tell-tale Forest green of old Virago Modern Classics… Continue reading
