The Literary Sofa
Book Review
Book Review – Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann
Literary tigermania shows no sign of abating. White Tiger, The Tiger’s Wife, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother… Like all of these, the latest addition to the string of Tiger-titled books, Tigers in Red Weather, has caused great excitement in the world of publishing, with hotly contested auctions on both sides of the Atlantic netting … Continue reading
Book Review – The Lighthouse by Alison Moore
Less than 24 hours ago, an advance copy of The Lighthouse by Alison Moore dropped onto my doormat. I have read it. Writing a review wasn’t on my list of things to do today, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’m itching to discuss this book with someone and unfortunately that will have to … Continue reading
Book Review – Canada by Richard Ford
In my Book Review: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides I talked about the fear and apprehension that sometimes come with reading something new by a ‘Literary Giant’. I could very easily have included Richard Ford in my list – his status as a giant of American literature is beyond question – but it simply didn’t … Continue reading
Book Review – The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
I’ve never posted a review on the day a novel is published before, but I’ve been excited about The Age of Miracles since I first heard about it last year and it’s one of my Fiction Hot Picks for 2012. 21 June is midsummer day, the longest day of the year and a fitting date for … Continue reading
Book Review – Arcadia by Lauren Groff
The question of what literary fiction is, or isn’t, is one that both frustrates and fascinates me. I’ve read many novels designated literary and not understood what distinguishes them from really well-written commercial fiction (now sometimes referred to as upmarket commercial). One criterion common to the various definitions of literary fiction is that the writing itself, the … Continue reading
Book Review – The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman
Sometimes you just get a feeling about a book. As I mentioned in a recent post Book Titles – (Don’t) Call It What You Like, I wanted to read The Light Between Oceans from the moment I heard the title: it is original, it conveys the theme and gives a real taste of the beauty … Continue reading
Book Review – The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn
When a review copy of Judith Kinghorn’s debut The Last Summer found its way to me just before Christmas, I had only recently published my Fiction Hot Picks for 2012 and immediately felt it should have been included, given the current mania for all things World War I. If you are a fan of British TV … Continue reading
Book Review – Life! Death! Prizes! by Stephen May
I wanted variety in my Fiction Hot Picks for 2012 and this book is certainly different, even down to the way it made it onto the list. Most of the novels are included because I’d heard the author’s agent/editor raving about them, which they are after all paid to do; thanks to their good judgement I haven’t had a … Continue reading
Book Review – Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
Six years after the release of Jane Harris’s debut novel The Observations, I still remember the voice of Irish servant girl Bessy with a clarity I wish I could summon for everything that I read. Her second novel, Gillespie and I had attracted plenty of buzz even before being long-listed for the Orange Prize 2012. … Continue reading
Book Review – The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd
I’ve never been drawn to historical fiction, probably because I hated history at school and gave it up at the earliest opportunity. But in fact, some of the novels I love definitely fall into this category: anything by Sarah Waters; John Harding’s Florence & Giles set in Victorian era New England which was one of … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 