I’m always drawn to campus-lit, so I didn’t need much convincing for Grace Murray’s debut, Blank Canvas. And then I read the blurb –
…Charlotte begins her final year with a lie. Her father died over the summer, she says. Heart attack. Very sudden. Charlotte had never been close with her classmates but as she repeats her tale, their expressions soften into kindness.
– and I carried the book straight to the counter (at the always lovely Ramona Books). Continue reading
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
It’s that time of year when I have to catch up on reviews (one of these books I read back in April!) – Continue reading
I was lured by the cover of Oisín McKenna’s debut novel, Evenings and Weekends. And the comparisons to Sally Rooney and Zadie Smith. And the fact that it’s by an Irish author, so I was hoping for some Irish-misery-porn.
The story focuses on a group of friends, over a hot summer’s weekend in London. There’s a party planned at a share house, which sets the stage for the drama. Continue reading
Thanks for Having Me by Emma Darragh recently won the Readings New Australian Fiction Prize 2024. I can see why it caught the eye of the judges – it’s all about structure. And the small, but well-observed domestic details.
The novel follows three women from the same working-class community in Wollongong, New South Wales. Their stories are told as stand-alone episodes but as the book progresses, it becomes clear how their stories are interlinked. Maryanne, a mother in the late 1970s, sacrifices everything for her family, but as her two daughters become teenagers she realises that she has lost touch with her true self, and takes drastic action.
Every year, Christmas had felt less like something they did and more like something that was done to them. At least it felt that way to Mary Anne. Continue reading
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. All of these selections came via Cathy’s post about new Irish authors. Continue reading
There are two TV shows that I can hardly bear to watch – Utopia and The Hollowmen. Both are basically my previous workplace. The writers of those shows must have great connections in the public service. Anyway, twenty years later, it’s still too raw. I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue is similar in close-to-the-bone satirical tone. The author captures the mild (and not so mild) irritations associated with colleagues, workplace culture and the fact that we spend a good portion of our day with people that we might actively avoid ‘on the outside’.
The thing about annoyance is that once there’s a spark, you can find more things to stoke it.
We meet Jolene – disgruntled, depressed (although she doesn’t label it as such), seething. She loathes the people she works with, especially her manager.
He nods and names everyone he passes like the damn president of Clown Town. Continue reading
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. All of these selections came via Cathy’s post about new Irish authors. Continue reading
While boating, I devoted my reading time to a couple light novels. Continue reading