Author Archives
Blogger, theatre goer, nature lover and an avid reader of books.
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BOOK REVIEW: Asymmetry
Asymmetry is a story in which nothing and nobody is equal. It is inventive, compelling and altogether unforgettable. We should expect to hear a great deal more of its promising author over the coming months.
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Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime Tag
This is a first! Brittany, a fellow book critic over at Perfectly Tolerable, has picked me, along with several others, to take part in her book tag.
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BOOK REVIEW: Walking Wounded
Walking Wounded is a brilliantly crafted, often harrowing, powerfully intense piece of work, which deserves to win awards.
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2017 Reading Year in Review
What a wonderfully diverse and gratifying reading year 2017 turned out to be!
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SHORT FICTION REVIEW: The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere
A heart-warming and original short story.
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Christmas Book Bonanza 2017
Father Christmas left these beauties under my tree. Did you receive any long-coveted titles in your stocking today?
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BOOK REVIEW: The Reservoir Tapes
Set in a rural village in England’s Peak District – an upland area at the southern end of the Pennines – The Reservoir Tapes was first aired on BBC Radio 4 as a specially commissioned short fiction series.
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BOOK REVIEW: Stories: The Collected Short Fiction
There are no weak parts to Helen Garner’s collection – it is simply that some stories are more brilliant than others.
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Festive Fun: Let’s Go to The Book Hop
It’s very nearly Chrimbo, so I thought I would amuse myself by taking part in the Book Blogger Hop.
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THOUGHTS ON: Ru
At 162 pages, Ru is a short but intense potpourri of vignettes – powerful, superbly realized and well worth reading.
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BOOK REVIEW: A Maigret Christmas
A Maigret Christmas is the title story from a newly translated book of short stories in which the burly detective receives an unexpected visit from two ladies on Christmas morning.
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BOOK REVIEW: The Extraordinary Life of A A Milne
While The Extraordinary Life of A A Milne will undoubtedly delight fans, it should also appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in the author and his famous teddy bear.
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BOOK REVIEW: The Unrivalled Transcendence of Willem J. Gyle
Writer, James Dixon, has created an offbeat protagonist in Willem Gyle.
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BOOK REVIEW: Love
Love is an intelligent, compassionate, if melancholy tale, which demonstrates what can happen if we become too internalised and fail to be mindful of those we love most.
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BOOK REVIEW: Aphra Behn: A Secret Life
Behn is celebrated for being one of the first English women to earn a living from her pen. She courageously shattered many cultural conventions of her day, while in some ways remaining in step with her times.
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BOOK REVIEW: In Search of Nice Americans
The result of Geoff’s 2016 sabbatical is the light-hearted In Search of Nice Americans, subtitled, Off the Grid, On the Road and State to State in Trump’s America, a disorderly but entertaining drive across the USA.
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BOOK REVIEW: Hortense and the Shadow
A delightful Christmas gift for a young person with a lively imagination.
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BOOK REVIEW: In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is remembered above all for creating a monster – the grotesque but perceptive creature from her 1818 novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.
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BOOK REVIEW: A Chill in the Air: An Italian War Diary 1939–1940
Iris Origo was known to me as being one of the finest diarists of the 20th century for her moving and compassionate journal detailing Italy’s disastrous involvement in the same conflict.