Emile Zola: Writing Modern Life by Rachel Bowlby
Reviewed by Karen Langley The My Reading series from Oxford University Press takes as its premise that the best book recommendations come from someone who cares for the work in…
The Bright Side of Life by Emile Zola
Translated by Andrew Rothwell Reviewed by Harriet Fans of Monty Python may have a bit of trouble with this title – I’ve had their iconic song stuck in my head…
A Love Story by Émile Zola
Translated by Helen Constantine Reviewed by Harriet Here on Shiny we’ve reviewed several of the new Oxford World Classics editions of the novels of Émile Zola: Money, Earth and The…
Earth by Émile Zola
Translated by Brian Nelson and Julie Rose Reviewed by Hayley Anderton Regular readers of my blog might remember that I set myself the task of reading through Zola’s Rougon-Macquart series…
The Conquest of Plassans by Émile Zola
Translated by Helen Constantine Reviewed by Harriet Devine In issue 1 of SNB, I reviewed Zola’s Money, and Victoria wrote a fascinating article about his “racy, sordid books” for the BookBuzz section. Money was the…
Zola – An Introduction To His Books
By Victoria Best The OUP’s decision to publish some of the novels of Émile Zola that have not been in translation for more than a hundred years begs an introduction…
Money by Émile Zola
Translated by Valerie Minogue Reviewed by Harriet Devine ‘It’s very difficult to write a novel about money. It’s cold, icy, lacking in interest’. So said Zola in an interview in…
Stalin’s Library, by Geoffrey Roberts
Review by Basil Ransome-Davies One review of this book has come on quite strong against Roberts’ view of Stalin – prominent among the twentieth century’s most publicised murderous dictators and…
The Madness by Narcís Oller
Translated from the Catalan by Douglas Suttle Reviewed by Eleanor Updegraff Joining the ranks of small presses dedicated to one particular region or language, Fum d’Estampa is a Barcelona–London go-between…
House of Beauty by Melba Escobar
Translated by Elizabeth Bryer Reviewed by Basil Ransome Davies Each time I walk into town from my house I pass at least one nail/beauty salon/spa/bar/studio (the titles variously inflect the…
Spotlight on Publishers: Europa Editions
Questions for Daniela at Europa Editions 1. Tell us about the genesis of Europa Editions. How did the publishing house come into being? Europa Editions was founded in New York…
Paris Street Tales edited by Helen Constantine
Reviewed by Harriet I live in rural France, and visit Paris from time to time, generally rather briefly. I’m beginning to get the hang of the city and to appreciate…
Woolfalong
Written by Ali Hope My relationship with Virginia Woolf had a discouraging start when I first read To the Lighthouse in my very early twenties. It was a period when I was…
The Eds Discuss – European Culture
Post-referendum, the Shiny Eds (all Remainers) are still reeling at the Brexit vote! We thought it timely to explore our experience of European culture on the page and screen. Do…
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Reviewed by Victoria To add to a long list of lines I wish I’d written, I read somewhere that Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann was ‘Harlequin romance meets…
From Z to A, how Zweig inspired Anderson’s ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’
By Diana Cheng The Grand Budapest Hotel won four Oscars at the 87th Academy Awards this February. At the end of the film, leading the credits, is the acknowledgement of Stefan Zweig…
Shiny New Author: An interview with Frances Vick
In the second of our series where we interview new authors, Annabel talks to Frances Vick, author of Chinaski. A. When did you first realise you wanted to be an author…
An Interview with Heather O’Neill
Interview by Victoria Best I was fortunate enough to catch up with Canadian Heather O’Neill, author of The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, over a skype IM call when she was…
Fiction Review Index
Fiction, poetry and screenplay/playscripts featured are indexed by author surname. The links will take you directly to the review or article associated with it. (Authors of fiction who feature in…