August 29, 2015 The House in Smyrna by Tatiana Salem Levy Translated by Alison Entrekin Reviewed by Tony Malone Tatiana Salem Levy was one of the writers featured in Granta’s Best Young Brazilian Novelists list a couple…
August 26, 2015 The Ecliptic by Benjamin Wood Reviewed by Rebecca Foster Portmantle is a mysterious artists’ retreat centre on the Turkish island of Heybeliada. Its rules are strict: acceptance is at…
August 20, 2015 Great Sexpectations by Non Pratt Non is the author of two YA novels, the latest of which, Remix, is reviewed in our fiction section here. She recently took part in a…
August 20, 2015 The Looking Glass House by Vanessa Tait Reviewed by Esther Brazil “Some children have a most disagreeable way of getting grown-up: I hope you won’t do anything of that sort before…
August 20, 2015 The Chimes by Anna Smaill Reviewed by Eric Karl Anderson I’ve read a couple of fascinating dystopian novels recently: Station Eleven and Not Forgetting the Whale. Both use a dark forecast of…
August 20, 2015 The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley Reviewed by Annabel Hats off to Bloomsbury on the lovely design of this wonderful novel. You can’t see here, but there is a cut-out of…
August 19, 2015 The Seed Collectors by Scarlett Thomas Reviewed by David Harris This book is very different from Thomas’s last, Our Tragic Universe. We see events from several viewpoints, mostly members of the…
August 19, 2015 Tender by Belinda McKeon Reviewed by Alice Farrant Tender by Belinda McKeon is a literary tour-de-force. A frighteningly addictive tumble down the rabbit hole of obsessive love and friendship…
August 18, 2015 Colouring In by Angela Huth Reviewed by Adèle Geras First, full disclosure. Susan Hill, whose Long Barn Books has published this novel, sent me a copy as a gift. She…
August 18, 2015 The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock Review by Annabel Anyone who has ever been enthralled by reading or seeing the film of The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe’s seminal story of…
August 18, 2015 Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (YA) Reviewed by Bookgazing For a while now, there’s been some online discussion about whether “the coming out novel” has had its day, and whether…
August 17, 2015 Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee Reviewed by Harriet Rarely can the publication of a novel have been surrounded by such an uproar and so many misconceptions. Let’s put one…
August 13, 2015 The Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize Raymond Tallis Talks to Ingrid Wassenaar Those lovely people at Notting Hill Editions, home of the best in non-fiction essay writing, are in the midst…
August 13, 2015 Enchanted August by Brenda Bowen Reviewed by Victoria When I first heard that an author had produced a rewrite of Elizabeth von Arnim’s The Enchanted April, I was extremely eager…
August 13, 2015 Think Like an Artist by Will Gompertz Reviewed by Annabel Many of you will recognise Gompertz in his current role as the BBC’s Arts Editor, a role he fulfills with as…
August 13, 2015 Jeremy Hutchinson’s Case Histories by Thomas Grant Reviewed by Harriet No one becomes a criminal barrister to make large sums of money. A criminal practice has always been the least well…
August 13, 2015 60 Degrees North by Malachy Tallack Reviewed by Hayley Anderton When I first read about 60 Degrees North in Polygon’s book list back in the spring I was intrigued. I recognised Malachy…
August 11, 2015 A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler Paperback review by Susan Osborne When I think of Baltimore two things come to mind: Anne Tyler and The Wire, polar opposites in terms of…
August 11, 2015 Rupert Wallis – My First Year as a Published Author As his second YA novel All Sorts of Possible is published (reviewed here), author Rupert Wallis stops off at Shiny New Books on his blog tour to…
August 11, 2015 All Sorts of Possible by Rupert Wallis (YA) Reviewed by Annabel I saw a repeat of a Horizon TV programme all about sinkholes the other month. Geology professor Ian Stewart was in Florida, which…
August 6, 2015 Game by Tim Maddams Reviewed by Hayley Anderton I love the River Cottage handbooks, really truly deeply love them. Individually they are all excellent stand alone cookbooks and…
August 4, 2015 Mermaids by Sophia Kingshill Reviewed by Harriet once I sat upon a promontoryAnd heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s backUttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,That the rude sea…
