Mostly fiction but some poetry too…
A new Anne Tyler is always something I look forward to. Such a consistently good author, even into her late seventies and eighties. She writes with clarity, humour and wisdom about early family relationships that form individual experiences. The image of the French braid illustrates how our lives are plaited together with our families. You … More French Braid
Free Love, published January 2022, covers ground that will be familiar to fans of Tessa Hadley’s consistently brilliant novels and short stories. Her skill lies in the subtle way she dissects her characters’ inner lives, exposing their fears and desires. I read an advance copy courtesy of Net Galley and wasn’t disappointed. After struggling with … More Free love
What I love about this novel is the voice – throughout the narrative Amanda Huggins captures the slow American drawl perfectly and the dialogue feels authentically American which shows a real skill. As in all her other poetry and fiction the language is spare but beautifully nuanced. Crossing the Lines began as a successful short … More Crossing the Lines by Amanda Huggins
“They spread out their jackets and lay down together on the warm bed of pine needles, bright stars shining between the tall spruce trees…” … More All Our Squandered Beauty
As an ex primary teacher myself, I imagine poetry lessons with Jonathan Humble must be highly entertaining and loved by pupils in the school in Cumbria where he teaches. I haven’t read his verse for children, but a playful sense of humour comes over in many of the poems in this new collection from Maytree … More Fledge
You burned fiercely during your too-short life, sometimes with an intensity uncomfortable for you and those around you. But your presence was always felt. None of us wants to lose a child. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. In 2016 Gill Mann’s much loved son, Sam died from schizophrenia at 22. In this beautifully written memoir … More A Song Inside – review
Sky Light Rain, Judy Darley’s second collection of short stories and flash fictions, was published at the end of 2019 by Valley Press a small indie based in Scarborough, Yorkshire. My review copy arrived during lockdown and has been a very welcome distraction from the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic. As I’ve said before, short stories … More Sky Light Rain – a review
In 2018 I reviewed Amanda Huggins’ very enjoyable first collection of short stories, Separated from the Sea, (read here) and here I am again only two years later reviewing her second. And what a great collection it is, even better than the first. Beautifully nuanced writing that will surprise and move you and includes her … More Scratched Enamel Heart: review
Sophie Mackintosh’s first novel, The Water Cure, announced an assured and confident voice in literary fiction and was deservedly longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2018. Her second novel, Blue Ticket, revisits a similar dystopian world where all the usual facets of normal life are turned upside down. Calla, like all girls knows that … More Blue Ticket – a review
Excellent, atmospheric novel set by a Scottish loch where unrelated families are trying to make the most of a rainy summer holiday. It’s both funny, realistic and also imbued with impending tragedy. The ending is so unexpected it takes your breath away. I enjoyed Sarah Moss’s previous novella, Ghost Wall and although completely different there … More Summerwater by Sarah Moss – a review
Ali Thurm 