Review by Karen Langley The Crime Writers’ Association was formed in 1953 by author John Creasey, with a stated aim to promote, support and celebrate crime writing, and writers of…
Review by Karen Langley Denis Johnson was a prolific American author, producing during his writing life nine novels, one novella, two books of short stories, three collections of poetry, two…
Translated by Kate McNaughton Review by Karen Langley Nobel-prize winner Herta Muller is a Romanian-German novelist, poet and essayist who’s known for work which captures the experience of living under…
Translated by Bryan Karetnyk Review by Karen Langley When faced with a totalitarian regime and a disintegrating world, how should the writer or artist respond? In many cases they turn…
Review by Karen Langley Russia is a county which has had innumerable books written about its history, whether from its earliest times, or more particularly from the period of its…
Lonely Planet, Epic Runs of the World Review by Liz Dexter Here we have an attractive and informative book which is an ideal gift for the runner in your life….
Review by Karen Langley Pushkin Press is one of the UK’s best-loved and most successful indies. Founded in 1997, over the years they’ve issued a wide array of books; as…
Translated by Mia Spangenberg Review by Karen Langley Until recently, if asked to name a Scandinavian woman author, most readers might have plumped for Finland’s Tove Jansson. However, a spate…
Translated by Will Stone Review by Karen Langley Aside from his verses, Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke is probably best known to the English-speaking world for his prose work, The…
Review by Karen Langley The interwar period of the early 20th century saw a massive amount of emigration from Central Europe, as those vulnerable to the extremist governments of a…
Reviewed by Karen Langley The My Reading series from Oxford University Press takes as its premise that the best book recommendations come from someone who cares for the work in…
Translated by Bibbi Lee Review by Karen Langley Recent years have seen a spate of newly translated fictions being made available by Penguin Classics in their ‘Demy’ series; these works…
Translated by Howard Curtis Review by Karen Langley, 6 Mar 2025 Italian author and chemist Primo Levi is possibly one of the best-known commentators on the Holocaust; he began writing…
Review by Karen Langley Victorian novelist Charles Dickens is an iconic figure; known for his chunky novels, filled with vivid characters, social commentary and campaigning, he’s also occasionally dismissed because…
Review by Karen Langley When most people think of the high profile spies of the 20th century, names like Burgess, McLean and of course Kim Philby are probably the first…
Translated by Alexander Booth Review by Karen Langley 2024 is the centenary of the death of author Franz Kafka and the year has seen a flurry of interest focusing on…
Review by Karen Langley Nicholas Borodin (as he is billed here) is something of a man of mystery, at least for the English speaking reader. Apart from his memoir, One…
Edited and annotated by Robert Chandler Review by Karen Langley The last decade or so has seen a resurgence of interest in Russian émigré writing with a host of forgotten…
Review by Karen Langley Back in the 20th century, the world was a very different place to live in if you were female and/or gay. Equal pay was a pipe…
Translated by John Hodgson Review by Karen Langley The International Booker Prize is one of the more high profile literary awards, and its stated aim is to introduce readers to…
Translated by David Coward Review by Karen Langley The essay as a form of writing has existed for centuries, and one of its pre-eminent practitioners was the French author Michel…
Review by Karen Langley The coming of the Internet and the development of blogging at the turn of the 21st century led to a resurgence of the personal essay, which…
Review by Karen Langley There has been a resurgence of interest in the fiction writing of author Maeve Brennan recently, with her short stories in particular having gained much critical…
Reviewed by Karen Langley Bodleian Library Publishing is an imprint attached to Oxford University which specialises in bringing out books that share the riches of the Bodley’s wide-ranging collections with…
