Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce
Reviewed by Heavenali Miss Benson’s Beetle is Rachel Joyce’s latest novel – now published in paperback. Women are at the heart of this wonderful story – and we see the…
Business as Usual by Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford
Reviewed by Ali Business as Usual is an early work from the formidably productive writing partnership of Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford (both pseudonyms) – and it is utterly delightful. A…
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Reviewed by Ali Hope Although I have pre-ordered new releases a few times before it’s not something I do very often – and never have I felt swept along by…
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Reviewed by Ali First published in 1985, The Handmaid’s Tale seemed to speak to the generation coming to political awareness in that decade. Back then it could be read as…
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…
Renishaw Hall: The Story of the Sitwells by Desmond Seward
Reviewed by Ali Hope I read very few non-fiction books these days, but this was a book that ticked a number of boxes for me. I do like books about…
Wake by Anna Hope
Paperback review by Ali Hope Anna Hope’s remarkable novel Wake is newly out in paperback, and I urge anyone who has not read it to get themselves a copy. I read this…
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…
He Wants by Alison Moore
Reviewed by Ali Hope. Alison Moore’s debut novel The Lighthouse was a wonderful success for independent publishers Salt, being short-listed for the Man Booker prize; it was a deserved big hit with…
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks
Reviewed by Ali Hope Recently out in paperback is the latest offering from Sebastian Faulks, a novel which resurrects P. G. Wodehouse’s characters of Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves….
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce
Reviewed by Ali Hope The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy is the much anticipated companion novel to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. This novel has a parallel narrative, rather than…
Discovering Mary Hocking In The Back Of Another Book
Written by Ali Hope There is probably no greater joy for a book lover than to discover a new author. I found Mary Hocking nearly three years ago, in the…
The ‘Fairley Family Trilogy’ by Mary Hocking
Reviewed by Ali Hope The Fairley family trilogy by Mary Hocking has remained among her most popular novels. They were among a small number of Hockings published by Virago in…