April 30, 2020 Puzzles, constraints and cryptograms: An Oulipo beginner’s primer By Karen Langley Although you may never have heard the name of the literary group Oulipo, there’s a good chance you might actually have…
March 24, 2020 Fandango and Other Stories by Alexander Grin Translated by Bryan Karetnyk Reviewed by Karen Langley Recent years have seen a wave of wonderful new translations of ‘lost’ Russian authors of the…
February 27, 2020 Square Haunting by Francesca Wade Review by Karen Langley “Square Haunting” was published to much fanfare and acclaim recently; a book which looks at the lives of five notable…
February 20, 2020 Kallocain by Karin Boye Translated by David McDuff Review by Karen Langley Our modern world often seems to be getting very close to a dystopian nightmare, and most…
February 6, 2020 Somewhere Becoming Rain: Collected Writings on Philip Larkin by Clive James Review by Karen Langley My love of the poetry of Philip Larkin is no secret; I’ve written about him numerous times on my own…
January 23, 2020 Tales of Pirx the Pilot by Stanislaw Lem Translated by Louis Iribarne Review by Karen Langley Polish writer Stanislaw Lem was a prolific author of science fiction works, the most well known…
November 5, 2019 The Memoir of an Anti-Hero by Kornel Filipowicz Translated by Anna Zaranko Review by Harriet It could be argued that Anglophone readers are living in a golden age of translated literature; all…
September 19, 2019 The Caravaners by Elizabeth von Arnim Introduced by Juliane Römhild, with notes by Kate Macdonald Review by Karen Langley Elizabeth von Arnim is probably best known nowadays for her novel The…
September 12, 2019 Machines in the Head: Selected Short Writing by Anna Kavan Review by Karen Langley There was quite a resurgence of interest in Anna Kavan’s writing last year with the release of not one, but…
August 1, 2019 Necropolis by Vladislav Khodasevich Translated by Sarah Vitali Review by Karen Langley, The Russian Library series from Columbia University Press has thrown up some marvellous treasures of literature…
July 9, 2019 Red Circle Authors: An unusual and innovative venture By Karen Langley Japanese literature has a long and rich heritage stretching from early works like The Pillow Book (990s) and The Tale of…
July 9, 2019 Tragedy, Farce and the Future: the Red Circle Minis Review by Karen Langley As I’ve explained in my Bookbuzz feature, the Red Circle Minis are three slim volumes of original writing published by…
July 2, 2019 Selfies by Sylvie Weil Translated by Ros Schwartz Review by Karen Langley The selfie might seem to be a very modern phenomenon; the sight of people constantly stretching…
June 25, 2019 Barcelona Tales, ed Helen Constantine Translated by Peter Bush Review by Karen Langley If you’re an armchair traveller like I am, the “City Tales” collection of books from Oxford…
June 25, 2019 Lisbon Tales, ed. Helen Constantine Translated by Amanda Hopkinson Review by Karen Langley If you’re an armchair traveller like I am, the “City Tales” collection of books from Oxford…
May 9, 2019 Little Boy by Lawrence Ferlinghetti Review by Karen Langley American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti is perhaps more regularly acknowledged nowadays for his pivotal role in pioneering the Beat Generation; from…
March 26, 2019 What Not by Rose Macaulay Introduced by Sarah Lonsdale with notes by Kate Macdonald Review by Karen Langley The name of Rose Macaulay is not one that will necessarily…
November 15, 2018 The Race to Save the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport Review by Karen Langley The fate of the last of the Romanov Tsars and his family has exerted a fascination over the public during…
October 25, 2018 The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette Leduc Translated by Derek Coltman Review by Karen Langley There’s been a buzz recently about Penguin’s (re?) launch of their European Writers series, with the…
October 4, 2018 Death of the Vazir-Mukhtar by Yuri Tynianov Translated by Susan Causey, Translation editor Vera Tsareva-Brauner Review by Karen Langley Recent years have seen a large number of works by Russian authors…
September 25, 2018 Banned Books Week – The Russians By Karen Langley “The important task of literature is to free man, not to censor him.” (Anais Nin) The banning of books is an…
August 2, 2018 Sentimental Tales by Mikhail Zoshchenko Translated by Boris Dralyuk Review by Karen Langley Russian satirical writing has a rich heritage, stretching all the way back to the time of…
July 19, 2018 The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin Translated by Lisa Hayden Reviewed by Karen Langley You awake in a hospital bed. You have no memory of who you are or how…
April 26, 2018 Rex V. Edith Thompson: A Tale of Two Murders by Laura Thompson Review by Karen Langley The Thompson-Bywaters murder case (also known as “The Ilford Murder”) is notorious, but I think most of my previous knowledge…
April 17, 2018 How Shostakovich Changed My Mind by Stephen Johnson Review by Karen Langley Readers of Shiny New Books will know of my love for Notting Hill Editions books; I’ve reviewed their “Beautiful and…
