July 9, 2020 Expectation by Anna Hope Review by Max Dunbar Looking back at her hard living past, singer Florence Welch writes in Vogue: I wonder if my young self would be…
July 9, 2020 Into the Tangled Bank by Lev Parikian Review by Liz Dexter Lev Parikian is a conductor and, more recently, a birdwatcher, and you might have seen or read his book on…
July 7, 2020 The Coral Merchant: Essential Stories by Joseph Roth Review by Eleanor Updegraff Translated by Ruth Martin Austrian author Joseph Roth is best known – if indeed he is known at all –…
July 2, 2020 Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty Reviewed by Rebecca Foster When the Wainwright Prize longlists (for writing on UK nature and global conservation themes) were announced in early June, Dara…
July 2, 2020 Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams Paperback Review by Liz Dexter This Sunday Times bestseller, which was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and Longlisted for the Women’s Prize…
June 30, 2020 Chitambo by Hagar Olsson Translated by Sarah Death Reviewed by Karen Langley When we think of Nordic fiction nowadays, we’re probably inevitably aware of the preponderance of Scandi-crime;…
June 30, 2020 Crisis by Karin Boye Translated by Amanda Doxtater Reviewed by Karen Langley When we think of Nordic fiction nowadays, we’re probably inevitably aware of the preponderance of Scandi-crime;…
June 25, 2020 This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald Reviewed by Harriet It’s been many years since I read anything by Scott Fitzgerald, but he used to be a favourite of mine. So…
June 25, 2020 Westwind by Ian Rankin Paperback review by Rob Spence It comes as a bit of a shock to realise that Ian Rankin has now published well over thirty…
June 23, 2020 I Remember by Georges Perec Introduced, Translated, Annotated, Edited and Indexed by Philip Terry and David Bellos Reviewed by Karen Langley Regular readers of Shiny New Books may recall…
June 23, 2020 The End of Me by Alfred Hayes Reviewed by Annabel Hayes, who was born in London but emigrated to the US as a child, first came to attention as a poet…
June 18, 2020 The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo Translated by Yumiko Yamazaki Review by Terence Jagger This Japanese detective thriller is set in the 1940s and so is relatively ‘modern’, but only…
June 18, 2020 Sensuous Knowledge: A black feminist approach for everyone by Minna Salami Review by Peter Reason Minna Salami is a Nigerian and Finnish social critic, founder of the MsAfropolitan blog, who draws on Africa-centric and feminist…
June 16, 2020 James and Nora: A Portrait of a Marriage by Edna O’Brien Review by Rob Spence Last year, Weidenfeld and Nicholson reissued Edna O’Brien’s 1999 biography of Joyce, an entertainingly idiosyncratic volume, which is reviewed here….
June 16, 2020 Home Computers: 100 Icons that Defined a Digital Generation by Alex Wiltshire and John Short Reviewed by Liz Dexter Being born in the early 70s, I reached the age where we develop interests just as the first cheaper home…
June 11, 2020 Victory For The Slain by Hugh Lofting Review by Rob Spence When we think of First World War poets, it’s safe to say that Hugh Lofting will not be the first…
June 11, 2020 Wayfinding by Michael Bond Review by Terence Jagger I found this book absolutely fascinating. I have always been fairly confident in my abilities as a navigator (though with…
June 9, 2020 The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans by David Abulafia Review by Liz Dexter The reason this book is in the news now is that it has been shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize…
June 9, 2020 Pomeranski by Gerald Jacobs Review by Annabel Gerald Jacobs is literary editor of the Jewish Chronicle. He grew up in and around Brixton in the 1950s and 1960s,…
June 4, 2020 The Great Homecoming by Anna Kim Translated by Jamie Lee Searle Review by Eleanor Updegraff Ever since Han Kang and translator Deborah Smith won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize…
June 4, 2020 Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years, ed. Catrin Jones and Chris Stephens Review by Liz Dexter Grayson Perry has achieved the status of National Treasure in the hearts and minds of a large proportion of the…
June 2, 2020 The Mystery of Henri Pick by David Foenkinos Translated by Sam Taylor Reviewed by Harriet Back in 1977, Marilyn French’s The Women’s Room was published. On the cover was the bold (and…
June 2, 2020 Greenery: Journeys in Springtime by Tim Dee (2020) Review by Rebecca Foster From the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, Dee tracks the spring as it travels north. From first…
May 28, 2020 The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix Review by Annabel If you enjoy a contemporary horror novel laced with style and humour, you need look no further than the work of…
May 28, 2020 Tracks: Walking the Ancient Landscapes of Britain by Philip Hughes Softback review by Liz Dexter This quietly stunning book will appeal to anyone interested in art, landscape, walking, geology, geography, maps and ancient monuments….
