From the Booker Prize-winning author of Regeneration and one of our greatest contemporary writers on war comes a reimagining of the most famous conflict in literature – the legendary Trojan War.
Book Reviews
Books reviewed at the request of various publishers and authors.
BOOK REVIEW: The Beekeeper of Sinjar
Dunya Mikhail tells the harrowing but often moving stories of women who have managed to escape the clutches of ISIS.
BOOK REVIEW: The Library of Ice: Readings from a Cold Climate
A vivid and perceptive book, which will probably appeal to readers of Robert Macfarlane, Roger Deakin and Olivia Laing.
BOOK REVIEW: Disbanded Kingdom
A 21st-century coming-of-age story, set against the emotive backdrop of the United Kingdom’s breakaway from the European Union and its threatened rupture with Scotland.
BOOK REVIEW: The Brontë Family: Passionate Literary Geniuses
An immensely enjoyable biography of the Brontë sister’s unconventional lives, astounding literary talents and tragic deaths.
BOOK REVIEW: Bottled Goods
Set in 1970s communist Romania, this novella-in-flash draws upon magic realism to weave a tale of everyday troubles in an authoritarian state.
BOOK REVIEW: The Great Believers
A powerful novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris.
BOOK REVIEW: Ghost Wall
Young Silvie, along with her mother and abusive father, are in a remote Northumberland camp as an exercise in experiential archaeology. Sarah Moss’s forthcoming novel has much to say about female affinity and friendship.
BOOK REVIEW: Orchid & the Wasp
A dark but highly amusing coming-of-age story, which encompasses sexuality, mental health, class, religion and contemporary politics. Caoilinn Hughes has written a stunningly ambitious debut novel.
BLOG TOUR: ‘Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? 200 birds, 12 months, 1 lapsed birdwatcher’ by Lev Parikian
Book Jotter is the fourth stop on Lev Parikian’s great Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? Blog Tour. Grab your bins and join in the fun!
BOOK REVIEW: Books for Living: A Reader’s Guide to Life
An uplifting exploration of the power of books to shape our lives in an era of constant connectivity.
BOOK REVIEW: Song Castle
Song Castle is an exuberant caper through 12th-century Wales in the company of poets and musicians from all corners of the known world as they gather to compete for a permanent place at a Welsh Prince’s table.
BOOK REVIEW: In Search of Lost Books: The Forgotten Stories of Eight Mythical Volumes
The gripping and elegiac stories of eight lost books, and the mysterious circumstances behind their disappearances.
BOOK REVIEW: Swan Song
A deft, dazzling, diligently researched debut about a literary icon and his beautiful, wealthy, spoiled Swans.
BOOK REVIEW: Meet Me at the Museum
Meet Me at the Museum is an epistolary story of love and selflessness. It put a smile on this reader’s face.
BOOK REVIEW: White Houses
The story of an unexpected and forbidden love affair that developed between America’s First Lady and a well-known female journalist.
BOOK REVIEW: Ayiti
This debut collection from Roxane Gay is a unique blend of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, all interwoven to represent the Haitian diaspora experience.
BOOK REVIEW: Suffragette: The Battle for Equality
2018 marks a century since the first women won the vote in the United Kingdom, and this children’s book tells the story of their fight. ‘Suffragette’ is a tale of astounding bravery, ingenuity and strength.
BOOK REVIEW: Sylvia Pankhurst: Rebellious Suffragette
In honour of the centennial of women gaining the right to vote in the UK, we look at the life of someone who fought relentlessly to achieve it.
BOOK REVIEW: The End of Loneliness
Told through the ruptured lives of three siblings, The End of Loneliness is a heartfelt, enriching novel about loss and loneliness, family and love.