I Was Here by Gayle Forman (YA)
Reviewed by Annabel When I read Gayle Forman’s debut novel If I Stay back in 2009, the juggernaut that is today’s YA book industry was in its relative infancy. Being in my…
Reviewed by Annabel When I read Gayle Forman’s debut novel If I Stay back in 2009, the juggernaut that is today’s YA book industry was in its relative infancy. Being in my…
Reviewed by Beth Townsend Good Girls Don’t Die is the first in a new crime series written by Isabelle Grey, known for her previous psychological thrillers Out of Sight and Bad Mother. Good Girls Don’t…
Translated by Roger Cockrell Reviewed by Karen Langley When Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov’s magnum opus The Master and Margarita was finally published, decades after his death, it took the literary world by…
Translated by David Bellos Reviewed by Karen Langley One of the continual debates nowadays amongst readers is the notion of paper versus e-reader. So it’s a delight to come across…
Review by Claire Hayes There’s an enchanted sense of shared humanity about Edwidge Danticat’s third adult novel Claire of the Sea Light. As a freak wave off the coast of the Haitian…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Translated from the Catalan by Maruxa Relaño and Martha Tennent Reviewed by Jean Morris I wonder if my daughter will forget the image of the rainy street where for years…
Reviewed by Harriet Best known for her books for children and young adults (ninety-five of them to date), Adèle Geras has also written a handful of novels for adults, of…
Reviewed by Annabel Marcus Sedgwick is one of my favourite authors, one of the few whose new YA and adult novels I will buy automatically. He has won several prizes…
Translated from the French by Liedewy Hawke Reviewed by Ali Hope Swirling like wateragainst rugged rocks,time goes around and around The art of the Haiku is an ancient one, and…
Translated by Anna Summers Reviewed by Karen Langley Russian author Nikolai Gogol, best known for satirical works like The Nose and Dead Souls, is not a name you would automatically connect with a…
By Helen Skinner In Mr Mac and Me, Esther Freud paints a beautiful portrait of a small rural community and the ways in which it is affected by war. Our narrator…