Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver is an uncomfortable read at times. It is a book which prises apart the building blocks of modern life – financial security, capitalism, family life – all based around the metaphor of a house that is falling down (both in the present and the past). It is exactly what you’d expect of Barbara Kingsolver, but it is also surprising and ambitious in scope, told through the voices of two characters living in Vineland, with over a century between them. Continue reading
Literary Fiction
Book Review: The Plankton Collector by Cath Barton
The Plankton Collector is told in the comforting voice of a storyteller, rather like a bed time story, and it is short enough to be read in one sitting. The plot is based around the struggles of one small family as they attempt to keep going in the face of intense grief. One by one, each family member is visited by a mysterious figure – the Plankton Collector. He does very little, and says very little, but gradually, over time, his visits begin to help, and their wounds begin to heal… Continue reading
Book Review: Tirzah and the Prince of Crows by Deborah Kay Davies
Set in the South Wales Valleys, in the 1970s, Tirzah and the Prince of Crows follows the story of a sixteen-year-old girl as she grows into adulthood. Tirzah has been brought up in a very strict, chapel-going family, but she soon begins to sense a change within herself, and an unsettling desire for freedom. Continue reading
Book Review: My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
A Guest Post written by Mary Le Bon
My Name is Lucy Barton is a beautiful book which tenderly describes the relationship between a young mother and her own mother whom she hasn’t seen for many years. The narrator is in hospital for a period of weeks and her mother arrives unexpectedly and sits at the foot of her bed for five long days, catnapping but steadfastly refusing the offer of a bed. The stilted and very realistic conversation between the two reveals Lucy’s impoverished and, at times, traumatic childhood as they share snippets of memories about people they have known and what has happened to them. Continue reading
Cornish Short Stories: A Collection of Contemporary Cornish Writing
Short stories can be difficult to contend with – their brevity creates a sense of unease. They can never fully reveal the whole story. Instead, they provide something unique and captivating – a glimpse into a parallel universe where anything can happen, and the best short stories are those which pull you into their world for a few marvellous pages, seducing you into a false sense of security, then abruptly leaving you to your own wistful thoughts, as you mull over what you’ve just read, often wishing for more. Continue reading
Book Review: The Unlikely Heroics of Sam Holloway by Rhys Thomas
The Unlikely Heroics of Sam Holloway is a rather unusual book, based around the seemingly ordinary exploits of Sam Holloway – a young man who dresses up as a superhero at night. It’s a beautifully written, heartfelt story, which is both hilarious and tragic at the same time. We gradually delve deeper into Sam Holloway’s world, and begin to understand the circumstances which have led him to lead this double life – an incredible weight of sorrow with which he has learned to live. Continue reading
Book Review: The Golden Orphans by Gary Raymond
The Golden Orphans is a stunning thriller in every sense of the word. It is packed full of atmospheric description, set on the sun-bleached streets of Cyprus, where crime and corruption hide beneath a veneer of idyllic island life. The novel begins with a sense of unease, which builds slowly. We follow in the footsteps of a young artist who has travelled to Cyprus to attend the funeral of his mentor and friend, Francis Bentham, who spent the last years of his life painting for Mr Prostakov, a wealthy Russian.
Book Review: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
This book may seem like an ordinary story about a fairly ordinary man to whom nothing particularly interesting is likely to happen, but it’s far more than that. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry follows in the footsteps of its protagonist: a recently retired man who has led a fairly unremarkable life. It is when he receives a letter from an old colleague whom he hasn’t seen in twenty years, that he sets off on a rather long and spontaneous journey, on foot. Continue reading
Book Review: My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal
My Name is Leon is set in 1981, amid riots and celebrations. The story is told from the perspective of Leon, a nine-year-old boy whose mother (Carol) struggles to cope with being a single parent after having a new baby. Leon is mesmerised by his baby brother, and enjoys learning to take care of him, but things get more and more difficult until Carol becomes too ill to look after them.
Leon and his baby brother end up staying with Maureen, where they must get used to living without their mum, but more changes are on the way, and Leon begins to suspect that nothing will ever be the same again. Continue reading
Book Review: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale has been adapted and shown on TV this year, so lots of people are reading it. Someone told me the basic premise and I was intrigued. There isn’t much joy in it, but it really gets under your skin and pulls you along. The story opens with the simple description of a room in which a woman (whose real name we never learn) is held captive against her will. Continue reading
Book Review: Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan
Sunlight Pilgrims is an atmospheric coming-of-age climate change novel – a tale of survival and hope against the backdrop of a freezing winter that sees cities grind to a halt, as temperatures plummet. Set in the Scottish caravan park of Clachan Fells, the book is both visceral and surreal but also entirely believable. We follow the story of young Stella, a trans teenager who is determined to ignore the judgements of others and seek out an identity of her own. Continue reading
Book Review: Tinkers by Paul Harding
A Guest Post by Bryan Marshall
If you’re looking for a rattle of a read, filled with explosive plot twists, then, dear reader, pass by. If, on the other hand, you feel you might appreciate a superbly-crafted, delicately-whispered rumination on what the final week of a clock repairman in Maine might feel like, with its half-memories and cloud-fogged hallucinations, then you may want to stay a while. Continue reading
Book Review: On Beauty by Zadie Smith
I really enjoyed Zadie Smith’s debut novel (White Teeth), though I have forgotten most of the plot. I wasn’t sure what to expect with On Beauty, except perhaps more of the same insightful humour and character driven narrative. To be honest, it took the first 100 pages or so for me to really get into this book, but that’s probably because the cast of characters is large, and each one has their own say. Continue reading
Book Review: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
I thought about reading something by the famous Elena Ferrante a few months ago, looked up her books online and was surprised by rather quaint, odd-looking covers and mediocre titles. But the obsession in the media with Ferrante’s true identity did its work, and curiosity eventually won. My Brilliant Friend (the first of her ‘Neopolitan Novels’) captured my attention immediately (once I’d got past the hideous cover and lengthy character index) with a missing mother and a tale of lifelong friendship. Continue reading
Book Review: The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer
I loved the main character in this book. Ruby is different. She has a bright red birthmark around her left eye, and she can see things that other people can’t, like Shadow (the boy who mysteriously appears out of nowhere) and the Wasp Lady (who swoops at her as she walks up the stairs). At the age of 13 she is delighted to discover that she was adopted as a baby, and decides to track down her real parents, who will surely come to rescue her from Mick (who likes to use his fists) and Barbara (who lets him). Continue reading
Book Review: Cove by Cynan Jones
A man out at sea in a kayak is struck by lightning. He awakens, injured, confused and adrift, with no idea where he is or how he got there. He must, somehow, survive. This is a story which you will read in one sitting. It is acute, addictive and raw. The writing is stripped down, simplified, becoming more potent in its purest form. It is filmic and close, mimicking patterns of thought. Continue reading
Book Review: Pigeon by Alys Conran
Pigeon is a moving story of childhood friendship, heartache and survival. It starts with the boy, Pigeon, and his friend Iola, as they race up hill towards the ice-cream van, united, hopeful, yet haunted by the bleak world that surrounds them. The novel is set in North Wales, in a small impoverished town. It was published simultaneously in Welsh and English, and plays both on ‘pigeon’, (the unloved, overlooked, yet ever-present bird), and ‘pidgin’ (the power of language, and the enigma of bilingualism). Continue reading
Book Review: My Falling Down House by Jayne Joso
My Falling Down House is a philosophical portrayal of what it means to be reduced to nothing, to become a nobody, to fall to the very bottom of reality and to question what it is to be human. The book transports the reader to Tokyo and a young man named Takeo Tanaka, former employee of a company hit by the financial crisis. He loses his job, his girlfriend and his home in quick succession. Having lost everything, he moves into a frail, abandoned house, made entirely of wood and paper, and attempts a total withdrawal from society. Continue reading