September 26, 2019 The Pursuit of Art: Travels, Encounters and Revelations by Martin Gayford “The pursuit of art is a journey that never stops: the more you see, the more you want to see.” First of all much…
September 24, 2019 The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy Review by Annabel Levy came to the forefront of our attention when her 2011 novel Swimming Home was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize,…
September 19, 2019 The Confession by Jessie Burton Review by Anna Hollingsworth Capturing an era with impeccable accuracy is a challenge that anyone writing about the past must face; there will always…
September 19, 2019 The Caravaners by Elizabeth von Arnim Introduced by Juliane Römhild, with notes by Kate Macdonald Review by Karen Langley Elizabeth von Arnim is probably best known nowadays for her novel The…
September 17, 2019 Rough Magic: Riding the World’s Wildest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer Review by Liz Dexter Lara is by her own account a bit scatter-brained. She’s been described as away with the fairies, didn’t see the…
September 17, 2019 Moonlighting: Beethoven and Literary Modernism, by Nathan Waddell Review by Rob Spence When the newly-elected Brexit party MEPs took their place at the European Parliament in June, they used the opening ceremony…
September 17, 2019 Futurekind: Design by and for the People by Robert Phillips Review by Liz Dexter Robert Phillips is a senior tutor on the Design Products course at the Royal College of Art, as well as…
September 12, 2019 Machines in the Head: Selected Short Writing by Anna Kavan Review by Karen Langley There was quite a resurgence of interest in Anna Kavan’s writing last year with the release of not one, but…
September 12, 2019 The House Opposite by Barbara Noble Review by Elaine Simpson-Long It sounds odd to begin a book review with the statement that I do not like contemporary literature. I never…
September 10, 2019 Devotion by Madeline Stevens Reviewed by Harriet ‘A dangerous novel – sharp, glittering and sexy’: so says the quotation on the cover of Madeline Stevens’ debut novel. I’m…
September 5, 2019 Sanctuary by Luca D’Andrea Translated by Howard Curtis and Katherine Gregor Review by Basil Ransome-Davies Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite ‘em/And little fleas…
September 5, 2019 The Remarkable Life of the Skin by Monty Lyman Review by Simon. The number of science books I’ve read can be numbered on my fingers, and number of science books I’ve read that weren’t written…
September 3, 2019 To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers Review by Annabel Those who’ve visited Shiny New Books before may know of my passion for the novels of Becky Chambers, one of the…
September 3, 2019 Beastings by Benjamin Myers Reviewed by Kim Forrester Stories told in strong, distinctive voices using sparse, pared-back prose don’t come much better than Benjamin Myers’ Beastings, which has just…