A razor sharp, wickedly humorous and surreal satire of a real life political scandal – reimagined within the claustrophobic walls of an English convent.
British Literature
THOUGHTS ON: My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
It’s a little late, but here, finally, is my contribution to Daphne du Maurier Reading Week.
1965 CLUB: The Millstone by Margaret Drabble
Collaborative book blogging: my contribution to the 1965 Club.
THE CLASSICS CLUB: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
I share my thoughts on a collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.
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.
BOOK REVIEW: Doggerland
A cleverly inventive, well-crafted debut novel about loneliness and hope – set on an offshore windfarm in the near future.
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: 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?
THE CLASSICS CLUB: Brave New World
Aldous Huxley’s ingenious fantasy of the future sheds a blazing light on the present and is considered to be his most enduring masterwork.
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: 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.
Hay Happenings #6
My sixth and final day at Hay Festival 2018.
THOUGHTS ON: ‘Scoop: A Novel About Journalists’
Described as “a brilliantly irreverent satire of Fleet Street and its hectic pursuit of hot news”, I was unfortunately unable to connect with Scoop – one of Evelyn Waugh’s most popular novels.
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!
Remembering Amy Levy
It is 130 years since the publication of Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy, a novel about the unfulfilled lives of Victorian women. We look back at the short but controversial life of its author.
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.
THOUGHTS ON: George Orwell: A Life in Letters
For almost forty years George Orwell wrote and received the letters collected here, which have been edited by Peter Davison.