While the men were at war women ruled the streets. Kate Thompson tells the vivid and moving stories of the matriarchs who remain the backbone of London’s East End to this day.
Book Reviews
BOOK REVIEW: In the Dream House: A Memoir
Carmen Maria Machado’s absorbing and brilliantly unorthodox account of an abusive relationship is due for publication in the UK on 2nd January 2020.
BOOK REVIEW: Starling Days
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan’s novel is a grim story of loneliness, isolation and unhappiness, played out between London and New York.
BOOK REVIEW: A Nail, A Rose
Brought back into print by Pushkin Press, Madeleine Bourdouxhe’s 1944 short story collection highlights the lives of conflicted female characters in beautiful prose.
BOOK REVIEW: Reasons to be Cheerful
My third choice for 20 Books of Summer is Nina Stibbe’s new novel following the latest instalment in the life of Lizzie Vogel.
BOOK REVIEW: The Museum of Modern Love
The first title read from my 10 Books of Summer list, Heather Rose’s extraordinary novel is set against the backdrop of one of the greatest art events in modern history.
BOOK REVIEW: Conversations with Wilde: A Fictional Dialogue Based on Biographical Facts
Imagined by Oscar Wilde’s own grandson, this fictionalised conversation presents a fascinating biography of the poet, playwright and gay martyr.
BOOK REVIEW: Barnhill: A Novel
I share my thoughts on Norman Bissell’s fictionalised retelling of a crucial period in George Orwell’s life.
BOOK REVIEW: Intimate Ties: Two Novellas
First published in 1911, Intimate Ties is Robert Musil’s second book, consisting of two novellas, ‘The Culmination of Love’ and ‘The Temptation of Silent Veronica.’
BOOK REVIEW: Doggerland
A cleverly inventive, well-crafted debut novel about loneliness and hope – set on an offshore windfarm in the near future.
BOOK REVIEW: The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man: Essential Stories
A collection of Franz Kafka’s short stories showcasing his dark imagination and wry humour.
BOOK REVIEW: Crimson
Crimson is a tale of love, lust, despondency and queer life in modern Greenland.
REREADING: Matilda by Roald Dahl
Reading the original, magical story after thirty years before sampling a collectors edition with a brand new cover from Quentin Blake.
BOOK REVIEW: Murder by the Book: The crime that shocked Victorian literary London
A gripping investigation into a crime that scandalized literary London.
BOOK REVIEW: The Cake Tree in the Ruins
A necessarily brief review (I’m posting this from a sandy beach in Cyprus) of a dark but inventive short story collection set on 15th August 1945 – the day Japan surrendered and the Second World War formerly ended.
BOOK REVIEW: Green Almonds: Letters from Palestine
A glimpse into a complex situation through the eyes of a naive young woman who discovers a country, makes friends, falls in love and is confronted with the plight of the Palestinians.
BOOK REVIEW: Where the World Ends
In the summer of 1727, a party of men and boys are put ashore on a remote sea stac to harvest birds for food. No one returns to collect them. How will they survive?
BOOK REVIEW: An Untouched House
A short but shocking Dutch war classic by a writer who has drawn comparisons to Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut.
BOOK REVIEW: Home is Nearby
Magdalena McGuire’s debut novel is a vivid and intimate exploration of a young woman’s struggle to find her place in the world.
BOOK REVIEW: Invitation to a Bonfire
A seductive, sensual and sinister love triangle set in 1930s America and inspired by the infamous Nabokov marriage.