Intelligent consciousness
~ Autumn, by Ali Smith ~ This is not going to be a plot-informed review, because this novel is not really about the plotline. Yes, I can tell you the protagonist is Elisabeth Demand, an art history lecturer, who lives...
Lisa
State of Grace
~ The High Mountains of Portugal, by Yann Martel ~ Right from the outset, it is clear this is going to be a book with many hidden gems, and massive charm. It starts with Tomas decides to walk. p3 This...
Perpetually 2nd-class
So slim that this volume is more novella than novel, this read is deceptively simple and yet packs in a wealth of social commentary about South Korean gender issues. This is a translated book, but happily the writing still does...
Culture critique without nuance
~ A Woman is no Man, by Etaf Rum ~ The title sounded promising, and so did the blurb of the storyline – about how Palestinians who had lost their homes or been driven out, and migrated to New York,...
Obscure and uninteresting
Having enjoyed some of O’Farrell’s books, particularly Instructions for a Heatwave, I was pleased to come across another of her novels, her second novel published in 2002, called My Lover’s Lover. The blurb talked of “the drug-like strength of O’Farrell’s...
Clever but clichéd
Having enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, it is unsurprising I found another Haddon novel a pleasant read. When the novel begins, it seems it is about a dysfunctional family – the Halls in Peterborough; dysfunctional...
Second fiddle family
From the acknowledgements page, I felt confident I was in the hands of an original and capable writer: here is what Jones wrote: For my parents Barbara and Mack Jones, who, to the best of my knowledge, are married only...
The March of Time
~ Emily Alone, by Stewart O’Nan ~ 80 years old, and widowed, Emily had “never wanted to be eighty. Practically, she’d never wanted to outlive Henry”. Living in affluence in a large house in Pittsburgh, Emily has Arlene, her (even...
Sharp Super-Sleuth
~ The Knife, by Jo Nesbo ~ I waited quite a long time to read this book, delayed somewhat by the lockdown, but it was well worth the wait. Having already read the previous eleven Harry Hole books by Nesbo...
Passion
~ Fortune Rocks, by Anita Shreve ~ This is one of Shreve’s older novels and I confess I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. It is also about double the length of most of her...
Shallow Inspection
~ The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country. By Helen Russell ~ This is one of those rather unsatisfying books where your interest in the topic or content keeps you reading, but where the...
Double Life
The novel opens with the protagonist, Andrew (Andy) Nocera) being tried in court for being caught “giving a blow job off Interstate 85 one hot summer night”.The sentence is one year’s probation, during which there must be no more arrests,...
Complexities of a Marriage
If you ever wanted to get inside a marriage of two mismatched personalities, this is an excellent novel for that experience, in so far as one can ever get ‘inside’ someone else’ marriage. Tyler does an excellent job of somehow...
Delicate passion, enduring stoicism
~ Snow on Falling Cedars. By David Guterson ~ It is surprising just how difficult it can be to review a book that one has liked immensely. The plot of this novel revolves around a trial in 1954 of Kabuo...
Contrasting Cultures
~ Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland. By Sarah Moss ~ I have so enjoyed all of Moss’ fiction that I bought her non-fiction book without hesitation. And I have not been disappointed. Her careful, thoughtful, skilful writing in...
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