Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway
Review by Annabel When it was announced that Nick Harkaway, one of the lateJohn Le Carré’s sons, was going to write another Smiley novel, I rubbed my hands with glee….
The Unfinished Harauld Hughes by Richard Ayoade
Review by Annabel Underneath the comic, often socially awkward, character exterior of Richard Ayoade lives a real intellectual and talented writer, who puts on a clever act to fool us…
Dear Dickhead by Virginie Despentes
Translated by Frank Wynne Review by Annabel I would never have predicted that Virginie Despentes, creator/director of the 2000 rape-revenge novel and film Baise-moi, author of the superb ‘State of…
Portrait of the Art Dealer as a Young Man: New York in the Sixties, by Michael Findlay
Review by Annabel My fascination with the 1960s (the decade in which I was a child), will never die. Add in the world of art and a New York setting…
Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers
Review by Annabel Myers is one of those British authors who writes something totally different every time he puts pen to paper, with the exception that almost all of his…
Table for Two by Amor Towles
Review by Annabel Until this year Towles has delighted his readers with novels of increasing thickness including A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway, both of which I adored,…
Kala by Colin Walsh
Review by Annabel Kala was the literary thriller to be seen reading last summer when first published. A high-profile debut from a young Irish author, I saw many favourable reviews…
The Blues Brothers by Daniel De Visé
An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv and the Making of an American Film Classic Review by Annabel Full disclosure: I saw The Blues Brothers on the first day of…
It’s a Gas by Mark Miodownik
Review by Annabel Ever since his first two books, Stuff Matters (2012) and Liquid (2018), I’ve been waiting for Miodownik to complete his states of matter trilogy with a book…
The Future of Energy by Richard Black
Review by Annabel Back in March, Shiny took part in the blogtour for Melville House’s initial books in its ‘Futures’ series. The first books in the series of small format…
Shiny Prize Season – Falling Animals by Sheila Armstrong – The Ondaatje Prize shortlist
Review by Annabel 2024 marks the twentieth anniversary of the ‘Ondaatje Prize’, awarded by the Royal Society of Literature for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the…
Shiny Prize Season – Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan – Women’s Prize for Fiction
Review by Annabel I enjoyed Nolan’s debut, Acts of Desperation, published in 2022, which was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Author Award. It is a fine example of the now…
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Review by Annabel One thing I know: this sublime novella will be featuring in my books of the year for 2024. Samantha Harvey’s Orbital is a beautifully written love letter,…
Shiny Prize Season – The Coiled Serpent by Camilla Grudova – Dylan Thomas Prize
Review by Annabel The longlist for this year’s Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize is truly eclectic, including poetry and short stories from all over the world alongside novels. After being…
To the Dogs by Louise Welsh
Review by Annabel For Welsh’s ninth novel, she stays in Glasgow and it is a thriller, but this is not a third outing for her reluctant crime-solving auctioneer Rilke (cf:…
The Future of Trust by Ros Taylor – blogtour
The Futures Series from indie publisher Melville House UK recently launched with four titles that couldn’t be more different from each other: going from Songwriting, to Trust, to War Crimes…
Argylle by Elly Conway
Review by Annabel Let me explain. This Thursday, a film called Argylle reaches our cinema screens in the UK; you may even have seen the trailer (IMDB link here). This…
Re-reading The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
Review by Annabel Ever since I read and reviewed this novel, back in the spring of 2015 when it was first published – my review for Shiny is here –…
Q&A with Nicholas Royle, author of David Bowie, Enid Blyton and the sun machine
Questions by Annabel Hello Nicholas, it’s great to ask you some questions about your fascinating new book which I enjoyed reading so much. I fondly remember our previous encounter for…
David Bowie, Enid Blyton and the sun machine by Nicholas Royle
Review by Annabel I’ve very much enjoyed reading Nicholas Royle’s books, the novel An English Guide to Birdwatching (reviewed here, with a Q&A with Nicholas here), and then his memoir…
West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman
Review by Annabel Imagine, it’s the mid-late 1970s, the Independence Day long weekend, and the founder members of an exclusive country/hunting club, West Heart, are gathered in the Club’s extensive…
The Stirrings: A Memoir in Northern Time by Catherine Taylor
Review by Annabel I’ve long followed Catherine Taylor on Twitter, where she has a straight-talking view of things literary and often political. A former publisher, she’s now a freelance writer,…
The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
Review by Annabel Mat Osman is best known as the bass guitarist of Suede, but he has also become a fine novelist. His first novel, The Ruins, which I reviewed…
A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention, and Murder, by Mark O’Connell
The Irish journalist Mark O’Connell’s books are particularly notable for his increasingly personal take on the subjects he is investigating. In his 2018 Wellcome Prize winner debut, To Be a…