A razor sharp, wickedly humorous and surreal satire of a real life political scandal – reimagined within the claustrophobic walls of an English convent.
British Fiction
1965 CLUB: The Millstone by Margaret Drabble
Collaborative book blogging: my contribution to the 1965 Club.
THOUGHTS ON: The Bookshop
In a small English town of Hardborough Florence Green decides, against polite but determined opposition, to open a bookshop.
THOUGHTS ON: Public library and other stories
A splendidly inventive collection of short stories from Ali Smith, author of How to be both, winner of the Baileys Women’s Prize and the Costa Novel Award.
THE CLASSICS CLUB: The Wind in the Willows
I share my thoughts on one of the most adored children’s novels of all time.
THOUGHTS ON: Autumn (Seasonal #1)
Daniel is a century old. Elisabeth, born in 1984, has her eye on the future. The United Kingdom is in pieces, divided by a historic once-in-a-generation summer.
BOOK REVIEW: The Silence of the Girls
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.
THOUGHTS ON: 24 Stories: of Hope for Survivors of the Grenfell Tower Fire
We look at an anthology of short stories written on themes of community and hope by a mix of the UK’s best known writers and previously unpublished authors, whose pieces were chosen by Kathy Burke from over 250 entries.
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: 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: 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: Lost For Words
Stephanie Butland’s novel is the ideal read for a tome-weary bibliophile looking for something undemanding but intelligent to fill a relaxing evening.
BOOK REVIEW: Turn a Blind Eye (DI Maya Rahman, #1)
A headmistress is found strangled in her East London school, her death the result of a brutal and ritualistic act of violence. Found at the scene is a single piece of card, written upon which is an ancient Buddhist precept: “I shall abstain from taking the ungiven.”
BOOK REVIEW: The Only Story
A moving story of first love told in old age, looking back at a hidden world of suburban secrets and sham respectability.
THOUGHTS ON: Burmese Days
George Orwell’s 1934 novel is a tale from the waning days of British colonialism, when Burma was ruled from Delhi as a part of British India.
THOUGHTS ON: A Month in the Country
In the balmy summer of 1920 Tom Birkin arrives penniless at Oxgodby station with his nerves “shot to pieces” and a commission to restore a Medieval work of art.
BOOK REVIEW: Walking Wounded
Walking Wounded is a brilliantly crafted, often harrowing, powerfully intense piece of work, which deserves to win awards.
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.
BOOK REVIEW: The Unrivalled Transcendence of Willem J. Gyle
Writer, James Dixon, has created an offbeat protagonist in Willem Gyle.
THOUGHTS ON: Novel On Yellow Paper
I rather like Pompey Casmilus, the narrator of this slightly off-kilter stream of consciousness novel.
