I was the child who wouldn’t get out of the water. My parents would stand at the shore, yelling for me to come in. They’d have packed up all our gear and would start walking, before I dashed out to catch up with them – wrinkled like a prune, crusted in salt, and gloriously happy. Continue reading
Tag Archives: book review
Finishing Short Story September with…
I finished Short Story September with one fictional collection – Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh – and one essay collection – Over the Water: Essays on Islands by various authors. Continue reading
My Latest Listens
Famesick by Lena Dunham Continue reading
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
I read Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash months ago – ridiculous to be writing a review now but I am because, since reading it (in May), I have recommended it to so many people.
And this is what I say when I recommend it – “The ending isn’t fab but it doesn’t matter because by the time you get there, you will have laughed so much, you won’t care.” Continue reading
Sophie, Still Standing by Meg Mason
In some ways, Sophie, Sill Standing by Meg Mason is wildly unbelievable. But in other ways (and I was reading it while I was enjoying the Edinburgh International Book Festival) it is clearly informed by experience and therefore quite believable (and Mason’s chat with Ann Patchett reveals a bit about that experience).
Anyway, real of not, it doesn’t matter a jot. The story is charming – it features Mason’s signature, gentle humour, and it’s set at a literature festival – what a bonus! Continue reading
The Marriage Plot – Family Family by Laurie Frankel
First up, Literary Wives has had a rebrand – we are now The Marriage Plot. We decided that a new name was in order to be more inclusive, and broaden our definition and consideration of roles in long-term partnerships.
So, to the club selection – Family Family by Laurie Frankel. Even with our rebrand, this book didn’t fit our intended focus because there are no core partnerships in the story. Instead, Frankel looks at how families are formed and what counts as ‘family’.
Air by Christian Kracht
When it came to discussing Air by Christian Kracht, my book group didn’t do much discussing. Rather, it was an hour of questions and speculation –
- was it an Arthurian myth?
- the row boat, the screw, the gun – where did they come from?
- is it a VR game?
- why are they traveling south to the North Sea?
- is it a commentary on climate change?
- is it a story about belonging and outsiders?
- does the main character fall into a memory bank?
- …and what the hell was going on with the horses?!
I Love the Whole World! by Victoria Hannan
I went to the launch of Victoria Hannan’s new novel, I Love the Whole World!, last week. Hannan was in convo with fellow author, Kate Mildenhall, who described this book as a ‘joy bomb’. And I absolutely agree.
In summary, it’s about a woman named Leslie. Leslie’s husband, Dennis, a physiotherapist, divorced her (and quickly re-partnered with Kimberley, his Alexander Technique teacher). Leslie, having drifted along in the marriage for decades, is indifferent to what happens next…
Dennis had been the only man she had ever loved, and was now a person she felt a numbing ambivalence towards. Thinking about Dennis was like going to the dentist to get a filling: a slight pinch, and then nothing. Continue reading
My Latest Listens
The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon Continue reading
After two five-star books…
I read two five-star books in a row (this and this). It set the bar high – what to read next? To avoid a crash, I switched to genres that I don’t ordinarily go for. Firstly, a mystery – The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke – and secondly, Bossypants, a memoir by comedian Tina Fey (and yes, I read lots of memoir but I know very little about Fey and certainly have not watched her television shows). Continue reading