Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
Reviewed by David Harris Alastair Reynolds has a reputation as a prolific writer of SF and made waves a few years ago when he signed a ten book deal with…
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Shiny New Books
The Men’s Club by Leonard Michaels
Reviewed by Simon There have been quite a few reprints, in recent years, from the interwar period and thereabouts. We are familiar with Golden Age detective fiction coming back into…
The Methods of Sergeant Cluff by Gil North
Reviewed by Harriet The rain wept on him from the eyes of the trees. The winter afternoon waned to its close. He withdrew into himself, stifling thought, powerless to guide…
Paulina & Fran by Rachel B. Glaser
Reviewed by Susan Osborne Female friendship is a frequent theme in fiction, or at least what’s often dubbed as ‘women’s fiction’. It can be more than a little idealised but…
Diary of the Dark Years 1940 – 1944 by Jean Guéhenno
Translated and annotated by David Ball Review by Terence Jagger This is a sombre book, the diary of a thoughtful but determined man – a teacher and writer who, 50…
How Sarah Waters Won Over the Reading World
By Victoria Best The press release for Sarah Waters’ new novel, The Paying Guests, describes it as ‘the most anticipated book of 2014’ and for once, this feels more like fact…
Q&A with Samantha Norman
Samantha was interviewed by Harriet H: Hi Samantha – thanks for agreeing to answer some questions. I very much enjoyed Winter Siege, and wondered if you could say something about the…
Caught in the Revolution by Helen Rappaport
Reviewed by Rob Spence We seem to have a glut of popular historians at the moment. Simon Schama, Tom Holland, Peter Frankopan, Lara Feigel, Mary Beard are among the names…
French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain
Translated by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce Reviewed by Annabel I experienced the sheer joy of reading French author Antoine Laurain earlier this summer when I finally read his first…
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…
Nothing Short of Dying by Erik Storey
Reviewed by Basil Ransome-Davies Erik Storey’s début novel, which bids to inaugurate a series, comes garlanded with approving quotes from established authors Lee Child and Jeffrey Deaver and has been…
Of Food and Film at TIFF16
By Diana Cheng I just came back home from the Toronto International Film Festival. Of the eight features I had watched, there are two that stirred up some ripples in…
The Face on the Cutting-Room Floor by Cameron McCabe
Reviewed by Harriet I saw the ships in the water and the lights of the stars in the water and the reflections under the bridges. The pubs were about to…
Stranger than we can Imagine by John Higgs
Review by Peter Hobson Subtitled “Making Sense of the Twentieth Century”, Higgs’ book takes fifteen of what he (and I think many people) consider to be seminal concepts, paradigm shifts…
Snow by Marcus Sedgwick
Reviewed by Annabel Snow is the latest addition to small indie publisher Little Toller’s series of ‘monographs’. These smart little hardbacks are dedicated to writing ‘attuned to the natural world,’…
Slow Horses by Mick Herron
Paperback review by Annabel If you’ve not yet encountered Mick Herron, you are in for a treat with Slow Horses. Recently reprinted, it’s the first in a series of British…
Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Translated by David Carter Reviewed by Simon If the name Antoine de Saint-Exupéry means anything to you, it probably only means one thing: The Little Prince. It was this contrast…
Sword of Bone by Anthony Rhodes
Reviewed by Simon They’ve done it again! Slightly Foxed have brought out yet another fascinating, entertaining, and well-written memoir – and another one that I would never have heard of…
The Empathy Problem by Gavin Extence
Review by Annabel In three novels now, Gavin Extence has proven that he can maintain a light-hearted narrative that can ultimately uplift, no matter how bad life gets. That’s not…
Reading for Food and Drink
Written by Hayley Anderton Wine is a wonderful thing, a living, breathing, liquid that ages, changes, develops in bottle and glass. It has the capacity to be hugely disappointing (if…
The Theoretical Foot by M. F. K. Fisher
Reviewed by Victoria Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher is far better known in the States than in the UK, and better known as a food writer than a novelist. She is…
The Naïve and Sentimental Novelist by Orhan Pamuk
Translated by Nazim Dikbas Reviewed by Rob Spence Orhan Pamuk, Nobel laureate, is the kind of public intellectual that we need to cherish, especially in these dark days for his…
Do Not Say we Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Reviewed by Karen Heenan-Davies June 1989. After months of student-led demonstrations in Beijing the Government sends in the troops. Tanks roll down the streets of the capital. Several hundred demonstrators…
A Novel Calling: Danielle Simpson’s Books That Were Written Just For Me
“A handful of books that have been really important in your life.” So, that was the brief. For someone who loves reading, loves books and stories . . . how…