Enchanting Irish novella
From the start, this novella was so enchanting that I only dreaded how small and slim it was, meaning the read would not last very long at all. I do not hesitate to say already from the first chapter, I...
Lisa
Provocative, amusing, magic realism
In all fairness to the author, I should start this review with a weaselly disclaimer of sorts: that I do not think this review will do justice to the novel or author, because I don’t fully grasp the genre, nor...
Three generations of Filipino-Americans
This is a refreshingly original and very in depth, detailed look into the diasporic Filipino community in the USA. Castillo conveys a large amount of not just cultural practises and norms, but the different values and codes of conduct and...
Tech Incubators, Religious algorithms
Having read Tahmina Anam’s previous three novels (A Golden Age, The Good Muslim, Bones of Grace, sometimes known as the Bengal Trilogy), I was surprised (but not unpleasantly) by this one. Anam’s work in the past had been characterised by...
Tales of short-term, commitment-free jobs
Although this is a novel translated from Japanese into English, the writing is of such good quality that it makes very good reading, even if perhaps not the same reading experience as in its original language. Nevertheless, it imparts a...
Partition, off-key
There have been many great Partition novels, but alas, this one will not be joining those ranks. I was so pleased to see another Partition novel when I first spotted this one, and the blurb about the author looked very...
Bypassing childhood
This novel is written in the best traditions of the reliable narrator, and this first person narrator is very very reliable indeed. Although we meet Anne Marie Grosholtz when she is but a child of six, her tone is already...
Innermost thoughts
Having read Kitamura’s Intimacies (2021), her fourth and most recent publication, I sought out more of Kitamura’s writing because I had rather enjoyed her introspective, almost stream-of-consciousness style. Some reviews have compared Kitamura’s writing to Rachel Cusk’s, with good reason;...
An enigmatic mother, precisely analyzed
We’ve all read a lot of literature on the mother-daughter relationship, and across many cultures for that matter, so although the theme of this novel interested me – a mother who is a bit of an enigma to her daughter...
Top-notch déjà vu
After the triumph that was Shuggie Bain, I was super keen to read Stuart’s next novel, and was thrilled not to have to wait long – just 2 years – for Young Mungo to be released. But diving into it...
Mothers and Daughters, tensions and connections
This is a collection of short stories, and like most collections, the first story is the strongest one. It is also the title story – The Return Journey – which is the one I will review, because it was quite...
Love, food and ethnicity
Essentially, most of this novel is a paean to the author’s dead mother, and the negotiation of a mixed race child (Korean American) of her Korean identity. The novel starts by telling us “Ever since my mom died, I...
Traditional crime-fiction with a massive historical background
Although I began to read this book with eagerness, it is with reluctance that I am reviewing it. I had enjoyed several of Khan’s other novels featuring Inspector Chopra and the baby elephant, mostly set in Mumbai, a lighthearted set...
Fear and Poverty
It seems a deeply ironic title – probably intentionally so – given this novel tells 5 stories of lives of Indians which seem mostly to be trapped in a state of fear and want and poverty. One of its protagonists...
Three Women
Having enjoyed Jessie Burton’s first novel, The Miniaturist, I was happy enough to pick up her next, The Confession, when I saw it. However, maybe it was my enjoyment of the period she invoked in The Miniaturist – 1680s Amsterdam...
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