The Vegetarian by Han Kang

It has been a little while since my last post. I decided to take a little break from blogging. I was struggling to enjoy reading or to find the time to dedicate to book blogging that is required to make it worthwhile. However, while I’ve been away, I finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I …

Sisters by Daisy Johnson

Sisters is Daisy Johnson’s second novel following on from the outstanding Everything Under. Johnson also has a short story collection, Fen, published. Through these first two books she established herself as one of Britain’s brightest writing talents, becoming the youngest ever writer to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize (she was 27 at the time) …

The Balance by Kev Harrison

One of the emerging genres of the last few years has been folk horror. Books such as Water Shall Refuse Them by Lucy McKnight Hardy, Andrew Michael Hurley’s excellent trio of books The Loney, Devil’s Day and Starve Acre and Pine by Francine Toon are just a few examples of the superb books to be …

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

What’s it about? Hamnet tells a story about grief, love and the bond between families. First, Hamnet’s twin sister falls ill with the suspected plague before Hamnet grows ill himself. Though all this, Agnes desperately tries to get word to her husband who is working away in London and to care for her ailing children. …

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

What’s it about? Giovanni’s Room, first published in the UK in 1957, tells the story of David, a young American, living in Paris. His fiancé has travelled to Spain to do some soul searching and while she is away, he meets and become infatuated with a beautiful and mysterious Italian barman named Giovanni. What proceeds …

They Can’t Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery

I, like so many people, was horrified by the video which showed Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, half of which George Floyd spent begging for help, for water, for his mother. Even once George Floyd had lost consciousness the officer refused to take his knee from his neck until he …

This Ragged, Wastrel Thing by Tomas Marcantonio

It has been a little while since my last review. With the world around us crazier than ever, reading has become much more difficult for me than usual. The only book I have managed to finish in the last two weeks was too boring to consider reviewing (a review in and of itself). Then, however, …

Southernmost by Silas House

What’s it about? Southernmost is about a preacher from a small Tennessee town named Asher Sharp. After a flood devastates his parish, Asher tries to help everybody he can. This includes a gay couple, who have recently moved into the area. The church, including Asher’s own wife, cannot accept a gay couple into their community …

The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima

What’s it about? This book tells the story of Noboru, a thirteen-year-old boy, Fusako, his mother, and the new love interest on the scene, a sailor called Ryuji. At the beginning of the story, Ryuji is a sailor on leave who has a fling with Fusako, but this then progresses to a more serious relationship …

My 10 favourite pages from The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse

During the course of this lockdown I read The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. I have gone on to read it every single day of the lockdown. It is a beautiful, powerful and uplifting book. Below, I have shared my 10 favourite pages from it but to give you …