Normal People. Are people normal? I don't think so. I think we are weird and strange and contradictory and self-contradictory and life primarily in delusions and bubbles of pretense and make-believe. But maybe that's me! "Normal" seems like a slur... So the point is, I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this book: it… Continue reading Normal People, Sally Rooney
Category: Booker Prize
The Overstory, Richard Powers
"Let me sing to you, about how creatures become other things" I was brought up - and still live - very much in the countryside. A safe, British countryside. I know my oak from my elm for my yew. I am currently harvesting apples and blackberries from the garden, looking forward to the walnuts being… Continue reading The Overstory, Richard Powers
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Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie
With two stories in the news today - Safir Boular, at 18, being the youngest girl to be convicted of terrorism offences; and Alia Ghanem speaking of her son. Osama bin Laden - about terrorism and the legal system and family, the importance and relevance of a book like Home Fire is painfully apparent. The… Continue reading Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie
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Reservoir 13, Jon McGregor
This is one of the most unusual and beautiful books I've read for a while. Hard to define. Difficult to keep track of people. But beautiful and lyrical. Radio 4 do a slot of "slow radio" sometimes and this book reminds me of that. And of my childhood. And of a familiarity with the country… Continue reading Reservoir 13, Jon McGregor
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His Bloody Project,Graeme Macrae Burnet
Authenticity is often what we look for in a book. Is the setting authentic? Are my characters authentic? Is my voice authentic? Is my lexis authentic? It doesn't take much sometimes to pull a reader from a novel and inauthenticity can do it. I've still got concerns about the use of the f-word in Hilary… Continue reading His Bloody Project,Graeme Macrae Burnet
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The Vegetarian, Han Kang
This is a very difficult book to review, to consider, to - for wont of a better analogy - digest. It is also a book which I think will haunt and follow me. And, Heaven forfend, make me think. What an appalling concept! The plot, such as it is, is devastatingly simple: Kim Yeong-hye is… Continue reading The Vegetarian, Han Kang
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Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
This book - a Booker Prize shortlisted book from a Booker Prize winning novelist - has been sat on my book shelf since forever. I was convinced I'd read it. I am sure I've had lengthy and enthusiastic discussions about it. Heated debates. Yet, having downloaded it from Audible as a re-read, expecting something familiar… Continue reading Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
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We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Jay Fowler
Why are so few book covers yellow? This looks gorgeous! Like a literary bumblebee. I have to confess, the only reason I picked this up was the cover - despite the advice parents give their children the world over. That and Waterstone's promotions. But I'm really glad I did because it's a powerful, haunting, human… Continue reading We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Jay Fowler
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How To Be Both, Ali Smith
I find with this blog that some books can be reviewed almost from the moment you finish them. Others, I need time to ... ruminate. To cogitate. To digest. To reflect on. This book, Ali Smith's Man Booker Shortlisted How To Be Both, definitely falls into that latter category. It is beautiful. It is thoughtful.… Continue reading How To Be Both, Ali Smith
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The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell
Ahhhhh David Mitchell. This, for me, is probably your crowning glory. I loved the realism and naturalistic voice of Black Swan Green; I also loved the mysticism and scope of Cloud Atlas. The Bone Clocks incorporates both those elements whilst ramping up the fantastical into a breathtaking and deft novel. The novel most closely resembles… Continue reading The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell
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Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones
Many things about being a teacher vex me: longer hours than the public realise, pay, governmental meddling. Paperwork. Ofsted. As a teacher of English though, the lack of imagination in exam boards' choices for set texts is pretty high on the vexing-list. Really, Of Mice And Men, again? An Inspector Calls as modern drama? Don't… Continue reading Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones
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History Of The Rain, Niall Williams
Books appeal to me in a variety of different ways.Some are intellectually challenging; some have intricate or gripping plots; some tug on the heart strings; some create whole worlds inside me; some create characters who live on inside my mind and imagination.And some sing to me. They breathe under my fingers. They live. And this was one… Continue reading History Of The Rain, Niall Williams
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The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton
Ahhh, Eleanor Catton's Man Booker winning The Luminaries. It's certainly not a quick read! It took such a time to read it - and admittedly my reading coincided with a stroppy baby and a hectic few weeks at work - that the beautiful cover started to wear off! The M of LUMINARIES on the front… Continue reading The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton
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Room, Emma Donoghue
This book had been on my to-read list since it was listed for The Booker Prize. The copy I had was electronic and just stopped about 20 pages in... And I never got round to replacing it. Until it cropped up whilst I was browsing on Audible. This was a perfect book for an audio… Continue reading Room, Emma Donoghue
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Harvest, Jim Crace
I loved this book, for so many reasons!! It is the story of a week in an unnamed village in an unspecified part of England at an unspecified period. And I loved the timelessness of Crace's prose: his narrator's language is lyrical and deeply informed by the landscape but not archaic or faux-authentic. If we… Continue reading Harvest, Jim Crace
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A Tale For The Time Being, Ruth Ozeki
I have an opinion. Just the one, but an opinion nonetheless. And my opinion is this: that most writing is, at least in part and at least tangentially, about the writing process itself. Books about books, about creation, about reading, about interpretation. How much reading do we come across in books? Ozeki seems to share… Continue reading A Tale For The Time Being, Ruth Ozeki
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The Testament of Mary, Colm Tóibín
I was hugely looking forward to this novel - although at 100 pages, novelette may be a more apt title - which failed to win the Man Booker prize last night. It is the story of Mary. That Mary. Mother of Jesus, Bearer of God, Theotokos, the Madonna. Of all figures to try to give… Continue reading The Testament of Mary, Colm Tóibín
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