The assistant in the charity shop recommended this collection of Oxford-based short stories by Oxford-based writers (collectively Oxpens – geddit?). It was a good suggestion. It reminded me why the short story, done well, is a very pleasing genre. Inevitably … Continue reading →
This novel is set in present-day Moscow and evokes a believable atmosphere of smouldering and pervasive corruption. Some reviewers have found the plot dull and predictable, but I prefer to say that the story develops with slow inevitability as the … Continue reading →
I regret to say that I don’t think this book is worthy of the Man Booker prize it won in 2008. I can only think it superficially ticked enough boxes to persuade the judges – first novel, non-white, non-English author, … Continue reading →
I was given this book in an Italian restaurant and Pizzeria in Oxford on World Book Night. It’s not easy to write a book convincingly in the first person, but Mark Haddon has managed to do it well in this … Continue reading →
The second of two Nesbo books I read this month. Both are airport fiction in the Scandinavian noir genre. The characters are rather uninterseting and the main character (the detective) is unattractive. They are both a quick read but don’t … Continue reading →
The first of two Nesbo books I read this month. Both are airport fiction in the Scandinavian noir genre. The characters are rather uninterseting and the main character (the detective) is unattractive. They are both a quick read but don’t … Continue reading →
An interesting book but I haven’t got anything insightful to say about it that hasn’t been said by others — see for example this review in The Guardian.
Continue reading →A conspiracy theorists’s delight! An unpopular ex-Prime Minister who took the UK into a war in the Middle East, now staying in the USA earning big money from lectures and personal appearances, employs a ghost writer to produce his autobiography. … Continue reading →
This is a strange little book, but in a good way. The author is described as "neuroscientist & writer" (find him on Wikipedia) but this is not about neuroscience. The book consists of 40 short pieces each describing a different … Continue reading →
Originally written in Swedish and set in Sweden, these three books deserve their reputation as ranking among the best modern crime fiction. They are dark and at times disturbing to read, dealing with violence, sexual abuse, trafficking of women for … Continue reading →