Book Review: When We Were Orphans, Kazuo Ishiguro

Occasionally brilliant, but somehow less satisfying than I would expect from an Ishiguro novel, When We Were Orphans explores familiar themes and characters but feels perhaps shackled by the weight of its own detective fiction baggage.

Book Review: Shrines of Gaiety, Kate Atkinson

Replete with fascinating characters, Atkinson's wit and humanity shines as she peels apart the sordid vapidity of the interwar Jazz Age and Bright Young Things - this delight is, by turns, tender, delicate and wonderfully satirical.

Book Review: The Island Of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak

It is 1974 on the island of Cyprus. Two teenagers, from opposite sides of a divided land, meet at a tavern in the city they both call home. The tavern is the only place that Kostas, who is Greek and Christian, and Defne, who is Turkish and Muslim, can meet, in secret, hidden beneath the… Continue reading Book Review: The Island Of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak

The Lying Room, Nicci French

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher, Simon and Schuster, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am new to this NetGalley and ARC business. A newbie, a greenback, a novice. I've received perhaps half a dozen ARCs in total, which is not many. Principally this is because I've… Continue reading The Lying Room, Nicci French

Three Moments Of An Explosion, China Miéville

Okay, so short stories. Part of me loves short stories. The precision, the concision, the economy of language within them - read The Dead by James Joyce. Part of me, however, longs for the lengthy, relaxed familiarity you get with the characters in a novel, even in the best of the genre. In the worst collections… Continue reading Three Moments Of An Explosion, China Miéville

Embassytown, China Miéville

Hmmm... where to start with this one? It's a book on which I am still ruminating and which is still rattling away inside my brain after a couple of days. Nagging at me. Gnawing at my consciousness. And Miéville's writing does that: it dwells and lingers and questions and challenges you. That is why Miéville… Continue reading Embassytown, China Miéville

The Yard, Alex Grecian

What was this book about? Murder and a new detective in the Murder Squad of Scotland Yard. What was the detective like as a character? (Shrugs) I didn't think he was a very confident person in what he did but he was actually very good at it. How would you compare him to other detectives?… Continue reading The Yard, Alex Grecian