2015 Books into Films
Written by Diana Cheng By now, you probably have seen some of the movie adaptations listed in the previous BookBuzz, like Gone Girl, Unbroken, and The Imitation Game. Here, to kick off 2015, we…
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Shiny New Books
Duveen by S.N. Behrman
Reviewed by Simon A good book review – according to the unwritten rules agreed by the Shiny New Books editors – should be about the book, not simply an essay…
Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, illustrated by Allen Crawford
Written by Max Dunbar Moments Before the Wind: The Illustrated Whitman Has anyone tried to illustrate Whitman before? Has anyone not felt dizzy and overloaded contemplating such a project? A…
The Old Vic by Terry Coleman
Reviewed by Harriet I do enjoy a bit of theatre history from time to time, and I must admit to a bit of a vested interest in this one. Both…
The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell
Reviewed by Harriet I suppose nobody will be reading this unless they love books, so I don’t really need to sell you on the concept of bookshops, unless of course…
Essays on the Self by Virginia Woolf
Reviewed by Simon I should hang my colours to the mast from the outset: for my money, Virginia Woolf is the greatest writer of the twentieth century. For both fiction…
Marmalade: A Bittersweet Cookbook by Sarah Randall
Reviewed by Hayley Anderton There is a not very scientific argument that claims that the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year. Not for me…
The Restoration of Otto Laird by Nigel Packer
Written by Victoria After a long and busy life at the forefront of modern architecture, Otto Laird at 78 is more than happy to live peacefully in Switzerland with his…
Tell No Tales by Eva Dolan
Written by Victoria One of the things fiction does best is bring to life otherwise abstract debates on political or philosophical matters. There’s nothing like a story for showing us…
Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss
Paperback review by Susan Osborne Eagle-eyed readers already familiar with Sarah Moss’s work may recognise one of the characters in her new novel. May first made her appearance, albeit in…
The Hollow Land by Jane Gardam
Reviewed by Lory Widmer Hess A witch becomes a friend. A pool of blood turns out to be blackberry juice. A theft turns into a gift, and a surly city…
The Same Old Story by Ivan Goncharov
Translated by Stephen Pearl Reviewed by Karen Langley Russian author Ivan Goncharov is known to most Anglophone readers for his novel Oblomov; indeed, with that book he created a stereotype who’s…
Funny Girl by Nick Hornby
Reviewed by Annabel A new publication from Nick Hornby is always something I look forward to, be it a new volume of his positive book reviews from The Believer magazine or,…
Q&A with Peter May
Interview by Harriet H: Runaway is quite a different kind of book from your most recent novels, being both less dark (or perhaps dark in a different way) and not set on…
Runaway by Peter May
Reviewed by Harriet I left a note for my folks on my pillow. I can’t remember now exactly what it was I wrote. Something stupid, about going in search of…
The Art of Memoir and Narrative Non-Fiction
By Neil Ansell I am the author of two books of narrative non-fiction. Both are memoir, but are equally likely to find themselves shelved as nature writing or travel writing….
Reading for Other Worlds
By Stefanie Hollmichel It has been a great year for space travel: the Philae Comet Lander, NASA’s test of its new Orion spacecraft, the ongoing discoveries of the Mars rover,…
Harraga by Boualem Sansal
Translated by Frank Wynne Reviewed by Alice Farrant Harraga by Boualem Sansal is a dazzling mix of poetry and prose set in the old quarters of Algiers, capital of Algeria. Here…
An Interview with Sophia Tobin, Author of The Widow’s Confession
Questions from Victoria 1. I found the two American cousins in The Widow’s Confession very evocative and enigmatic characters – what was your inspiration for their part of the story? It was…
The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes
Reviewed by Laura Marriott Meet Stella Sweeney, a Dublin wife, mother and beautician in her early forties. Stella’s chaotic but seemingly content life is abruptly interrupted before spiralling in directions…
The Widow’s Confession by Sophia Tobin
Written by Victoria Best Broadstairs, Kent in the early summer of 1951, and visitors are arriving to spend extended holidays on its beaches. Edmund Steele, a middle-aged medical man has…
Her by Harriet Lane
Reviewed by Kim Forrester British writer Harriet Lane has followed up her debut novel Alys Always with another psychological thriller that may make you think twice about striking up a…
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Translated by Deborah Smith Reviewed by David Hebblethwaite The first of Korean writer Han Kang’s books to be widely available (in Deborah Smith’s superb translation) to English-speaking audiences, The Vegetarian…
Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss (YA)
Paperback review by Annabel This debut novel was one of the big YA hits in the UK last year and is now out in paperback. An exploration of family, friendship…