Tag Archives: book review

Ravenous Girls by Rebecca Burton

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

I recently reviewed a memoir by Hadley Freeman, who had been diagnosed with anorexia as a teenager, so it was interesting to read a fictional account of the illness, this time from the perspective of a family member.

Ravenous Girls by Rebecca Burton tells the story of 14-year-old Frankie, who is trying to understand her older sister Justine’s admission to hospital with anorexia. Justine, a talented pianist, was about to begin studying music at university when anorexia takes over her life. Continue reading →

The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

In The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop, author J.B. Blackwood, takes her husband, Patrick, a famous film director, on a cruise to celebrate their anniversary. J.B. is nursing a secret – she has won a yet-to-be-announced major literary prize. A storm hits, and Patrick falls from the ship. That might sound overly dramatic, but actually, this book is a moral thriller, and the story unfolds from that point onward (and there’s a lot more to it).

In a story… the feeling of not knowing what happens next is often a thing of pleasure: the cornerstone of our delight… But the same feeling of not-knowing, as it happens in one’s real life, is rarely so pleasurable… Continue reading →

I Had a Father in Karratha by Annette Trevitt

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , ,

Two things I never expected when I started I Had a Father in Karratha by Annette Trevitt –

1. That the very last line of a book would make me burst into tears (especially having not cried prior to that)
2. That a memoir about being the executor of a will would be one of the best books I’ve read this year (and will most certainly be in my favourites for 2024). Continue reading →

Good Girls by Hadley Freeman

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

There’s a never-ending amount of reading I could do in relation to my work. Literally, never-ending – text books, journal papers, even Twitter threads. But I so often default to memoir for understanding. Yes, it’s only one person’s account but it’s the personal nature of that account that makes it meaningful. Case in point is a scene from Hadley Freeman’s memoir about her battle with anorexia, Good Girls – she’s 15, and with her family at a restaurant –

…I was hungry. God, I was so hungry. And so I ordered my favourite dish and, before I knew it, I’d eaten almost all of it, and when I stopped to take a breath and saw the empty bowl, I screamed inside. My family smiled happily at me, and my parents looked at each other with a ‘There, all sorted’ look on their faces. They were happy, and that was better than them being angry at me.

I don’t know all that much about disordered eating, but to me, that one quote captures the turmoil, the shame, and the pressure. Continue reading →

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Rom-coms/ meet-cutes aren’t my usual thing but I made an exception for Mikki Brammer’s The Collected Regrets of Clover because the main character, Clover, is a death doula – and grief-lit is my thing.

It’s a simple story – Clover, an introverted and socially-anxious woman, lives a life structured around her work, her pets, and visiting death cafes in New York City. Flashbacks provide context for her chosen profession – Clover’s parents died when she was a child, and she moved to the city to live with her grandfather. Continue reading →

Reading the Stella Prize shortlist – Body Friend by Katherine Brabon

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

I’m loathe to focus on a particular aspect of Katherine Brabon’s novel, Body Friend, for fear of giving away an important aspect of the story (which is best revealed to readers in their own time). The particular aspect of the story that I won’t comment on is the central character’s two new friends, Frida and Sylvia, both of whom she meets while recovering from major surgery (Frida at the hydrotherapy pool and Sylvia in the park). Continue reading →

Reading the Stella Prize longlist – Hospital by Sanya Rushdi

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m keeping my 2024 Stella Prize reviews brief, otherwise I simply won’t get through them before the shortlist is announced on April 4.

I read Hospital by Sanya Rushdi in one afternoon. It’s a novella (124pp), and although the cover clearly states that it’s fiction, the main character has the same name as the author, and it’s written in the first person… so… autofiction? I don’t want to assume but I have read that it’s based on true events. And that’s important to note because the story focuses on Sanya’s third admission into a psychiatric ward. Continue reading →