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…
The Great Indoors by Ben Highmore
Reviewed by Simon If, like me, you have spent many hours of your life watching TV programmes about how to build, renovate, sell, or buy a house, you will probably…
A Man of His Word by Imma Monsó
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…
Five Fascinating Facts About… Anthony Trollope
Compiled by Harriet 1. Born in 1815, Trollope had a miserable childhood. His father lost all his money, he was bullied at school, and he contemplated suicide when he was…
Doctor Thorne & Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
Reviewed by Harriet Anthony Trollope was born in April 1815, which makes this year his bicentenary. I assume that this is why Oxford World’s Classics is reissuing his novels in…
Cover Your Eyes by Adèle Geras
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…
Adèle Geras – A Life in Books
Interview by Victoria Adèle Geras and I had an unexpected chance to bond before we ever met. We were both on our way to a café in a south Cambridgeshire village,…
The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick
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…
The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault
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…
The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol
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…
Mr Mac and Me by Esther Freud
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…