Tribes by David Lammy

I don’t often read non-fiction. Not due to a lack of enjoyment or a lack of non-fiction titles to choose from but mainly due to the fact that since I started blogging about books the majority of interest seems to lie in fiction and I have a tendency to become preoccupied with trivial matters such …

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. …

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 …

Circe by Madeline Miller

What’s it about? “In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, …

This Way to Departures by Linda Mannheim

This Way to Departures is a short story collection published in 2019 by Influx Press. It didn’t receive an awful lot of publicity, but I came upon it after reading a very short review of the book in a newspaper. It sounded interesting so I thought it was worth punt. The first thing I need …