The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami
Translated by Allison Markin Powell Review by Annabel There are some books you can judge by their covers. Portobello books have triumphed in this respect with the evocative ‘levitation’ portraits…
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Shiny New Books
Bright Precious Days by Jay McInerny
Reviewed by Susan Osborne Fans of Jay McInerney’s series of novels which began with Brightness Falls way back in 1992, won’t need to be told who the Calloways are nor will they…
Beast by Paul Kingsnorth
Reviewed by David Hebblethwaite Paul Kingsnorth made waves with his first novel, The Wake (2014), which was set around the Norman Conquest and written in a modified version of Old English. It…
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…
Questions for Kirstin Smith & Rowland Manthorpe about Confidence
Interview by Victoria Due to unusual circumstances, my husband read this novel out loud to me (we both loved it). So, from a reading couple to a writing couple, how…
Confidence by Rowland Manthorpe and Kirstin Smith
Reviewed by Victoria Confidence has to be one of the funniest novels that I’ve read this year. It’s a welcome return to the campus novel but so fresh and contemporary…
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit
Reviewed by Harriet There surely won’t be many people reading this who haven’t seen the film or the TV series, even if they haven’t read the original book, which has…
Brensham Village by John Moore
Reviewed by Simon Brensham Village, the latest volume from the Slightly Foxed Editions series that I love so dearly, is a sort of sequel to Portrait of Elmbury, also published by…
The Revelations of Carey Ravine by Debra Daley
Reviewed by Helen Skinner There was always a good chance that I was going to love The Revelations of Carey Ravine. A book which has been compared with Sarah Waters, Amitav…
Dear Diary… Diaries in Fiction
Written by Charlotte Duff Since approximately the age of ten, I have tried to keep a diary. In fact, almost every Christmas I have asked for one. New Year’s Day…
The Voices Within by Charles Fernyhough
Reviewed by Anne Goodwin ‘Yeah, I put that in, surely!’ I laughed when I heard myself saying this the other morning as I stowed my bags in the boot of the…
The Girls by Emma Cline
Reviewed by Annabel I received a proof copy of The Girls about six months ago, and even back then it was being plugged as this summer’s biggest novel. The interest has built…
Two Gentlemen on the Beach by Michael Köhlmeier
Translated by Ruth Martin Reviewed by Victoria Who knew that Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill were great friends? I had no idea before reading this thoughtful and moving fictional account…
Blood Wedding by Pierre Lemaitre
Translated by Frank Wynne Reviewed by Annabel In the UK, Lemaitre has been best-known for his ‘Brigade Criminelle’ trilogy of novels featuring the detective Camille Verhoeven. Irène, Alex, Camille: read them…
Black Water by Louise Doughty
Reviewed by Victoria Louise Doughty is probably best known for her novel, Apple Tree Yard, which was a huge hit back in 2013. It told the story of a scientist brought…
Tide by Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Reviewed by Terence Jagger I live close to the tidal Thames, and often walk by the sea – and have never quite understood the tides. Yes, I was taught at…
The Long Weekend by Adrian Tinniswood
Reviewed by Harriet This gorgeous book is subtitled ‘Life in the English Country House Between the Wars’, and certainly that is part of its subject. But it’s a book with…
But What If We’re Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman
Reviewed by Simon How many non-fiction books do you come across which combine literature, music, television, sports, science, and aliens? Not that many, I’m going to wager – but, then,…
Spotlight on Young Adult Fiction – Summer 2016
Selected by Jenny and Memory It’s summer, and the cups of your trusty YA correspondents runneth over. We know we led you to believe that we would curate a list…
Fell by Jenn Ashworth
Reviewed by Simon The title of Jenn Ashworth’s fourth novel could mean any number of things – or, indeed, all of them. The first two that come to mind, as…
A Hero in France by Alan Furst
Reviewed by Annabel It’s been some years since I read an Alan Furst novel, although I own up to having a shelf-full of them. He’s prolific – A Hero in France is…
The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Translated by Dora O’Brien Reviewed by Karen Langley Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky is best known in the west for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Demons/Devils/The Possessed and…
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
Reviewed by Harriet ‘You have to be like Switzerland,’ Gustav’s mother tells him. ‘You have to hold yourself together and be courageous, stay separate and strong.’ The Gustav Sonata is Rose…
The Night of Wenceslas by Lionel Davidson
Reviewed by Harriet Is there no end to these amazing novelists who appeared to have sunk without trace and are now being revived for our pleasure and instruction? Lionel Davidson…