The Literary Sofa
Book Review
Writers on Location – Lucy Brydon on Shanghai
My trip to Malaysia last winter left me with a hankering to get to know the Far East better but even before that, reading Tash Aw’s Five Star Billionaire had ignited my interest in Shanghai, a place that sounds exhilarating and intimidating in equal measure. Today I’m thrilled to welcome debut author Lucy Brydon to share the … Continue reading
The Verdict on my Summer Reading 2015
Since the follow-up verdict on my Summer Holiday TBR List was so popular last year, I’m doing it again, including a couple of other books which have impressed me recently. I may start to do round-ups of this kind on a regular basis because I read far more good books than I can feature on the blog. … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Jason Hewitt on writing a Road Novel
To start the autumn season on the Literary Sofa, I am delighted to welcome Jason Hewitt as the first author to appear twice in my Writers on Location series. I have got to know Jason in real life since he wrote about Arctic Norway, one of the settings for his acclaimed debut The Dynamite Room, and I’m impressed … Continue reading
Guest Author – Jami Attenberg on Playing with Form
Books come through my letterbox almost every day, an intriguing mix of the eagerly awaited, surprise discoveries and (occasionally) things so far off my radar that it’s quite funny. All keen readers have a few favourite ingredients which will send a book to the top of their TBR pile and for me that is the … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Christopher Bollen on Long Island
I’m sure you know the immense satisfaction that comes from thinking a book sounds right up your street and finding that is indeed the case. That happened to me with Christopher Bollen’s second novel Orient, a sophisticated murder mystery set on Long Island. It has everything I most enjoy about contemporary American fiction and is … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Jill Alexander Essbaum on Zürich
Hausfrau is the first novel by acclaimed American poet Jill Alexander Essbaum and I was fortunate enough to read it six months ago, knowing only that its UK publishers at Mantel were very excited about it. As anyone who runs a literary blog knows, it’s a publisher’s job to be excited about the titles they release – … Continue reading
Guest Author – Patrick Gale on Writing A Place Called Winter
It is a huge pleasure to welcome prolific bestselling author Patrick Gale to the Literary Sofa today. Patrick’s long and successful literary career had an unusual beginning back in 1986 when his first two novels were published on the same day. He has since written over a dozen more as well as two short story collections … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Eve Makis on Cyprus
These days e-mails and text messages frequently appear in novels but there’s nothing like an old-fashioned hand-written letter and I am drawn to books with any kind of epistolary connection. Things were literally looking good for The Spice Box Letters before I even started reading – it also has the most beautiful enticing cover. I’m … Continue reading
Book Review – Submission (Soumission) by Michel Houellebecq
*UPDATE – SEPTEMBER 2015: THIS REVIEW IS OF THE ORIGINAL TEXT – THE NOVEL IS NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, TRANSLATED BY LORIN STEIN* Reviewing a novel not yet available in English isn’t something I would normally do but the intense energy surrounding Michel Houellebecq’s Soumission (Submission) got the better of me when I was in Paris. … Continue reading
Guest Author – Claire Fuller on Giving your Characters a Hard Time
As I prefer to open a book knowing the bare minimum about it (yes, that is weird coming from someone who constantly recommends books but at least I don’t do spoilers), I am very influenced by titles and a beautiful and intriguing one like Claire Fuller’s Our Endless Numbered Days is guaranteed to attract my attention. (It’s actually … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 