Booker season continues with Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting Western Lane (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2023 – thanks for the advanced copy!) – a chunky tragicomic family saga set in post-crash Ireland that boosts a unique approach to storytelling. The first section of the novel is divided into four parts – one for each family memberContinue reading “THE BEE STING – Paul Murray”
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WESTERN LANE – Chetna Maroo
Booker season continues with Chetna Maroo’s Western Lane (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2023). This slim novella packs both a powerful punch and a tender hug – all with a backdrop of squash. Eleven-year-old Gopi has been playing squash for as long as she can remember, but when her mother dies, her father’s grief leads toContinue reading “WESTERN LANE – Chetna Maroo”
OLD GOD’S TIME – Sebastian Barry
Booker season continues with Sebastian Barry’s Old God’s Time (Viking 2023). Barry is no stranger to the longlist – out of 9 novels, he’s been longlisted for 5 (2 of which made it to the shortlist – we’ll see what the fates hold for this one). It’s a very prettily told story with – aContinue reading “OLD GOD’S TIME – Sebastian Barry”
A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS – Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Booker season continues with Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ ’s A Spell of Good Things (Knopf 2023). The novel is Wole Soyinka (without the bitter wit) meets The Girl with the Louding Voice – full of political corruption, a hunger for both food and education, and a sharp division between classes while still showing, quite literally, that we allContinue reading “A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS – Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ “
THIS OTHER EDEN – Paul Harding
My second read from the Booker Prize longlist left a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn’t because of the writing – Paul Harding writes beautifully and with a concise purpose (albeit with a tone that reminds me of works that want to appear smarter and more literary at the sake of losing the actualContinue reading “THIS OTHER EDEN – Paul Harding”
IF I SURVIVE YOU – Jonathan Escoffery
“Tell him – across the expanse of time and distance, as I am telling you now – all that I can’t say to him. Start with the resentment and the feelings of neglect and your resulting recklessness. Recount every injury, every scar you carve into each other. And when you’re finished, and you are certainContinue reading “IF I SURVIVE YOU – Jonathan Escoffery”
HOW TO TURN INTO A BIRD – María José Ferrada
“One side of love, an undervalued one, has to do with letting the other person walk their own path.” María José Ferrada’s How to Turn into a Bird (translated by Elizabeth Bryer, Tin House 2022) echoes with the same tender ache of growing up as Le Petit Prince and Peter Pan, and it has justContinue reading “HOW TO TURN INTO A BIRD – María José Ferrada”
A DANGEROUS BUSINESS – Jane Smiley
Jane Smiley’s A Dangerous Business (Knopf 2022) was published in December of last year, but I just got around to reading the uncorrected proof the publisher sent. I know Smiley is a phenomenal writer – Horse Heaven and A Thousand Acres are two powerful novels that highlight that talent – but A Dangerous Business wasContinue reading “A DANGEROUS BUSINESS – Jane Smiley”
THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE – Abi Daré
“This flower be the brown of a wet leaf that suffer a stamping from the dirty feets of a man that forget the promise he make to his dead wife.” Abi Daré’s debut The Girl with the Louding Voice (Dutton 2020) has been on my TBR for ages. I was admittedly a bit reluctant toContinue reading “THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE – Abi Daré”
BANYAN MOON – Thao Thai
“He’s polish without substance, and I’ve hitched my wagon to nothing but a handful of glitter.” “The living must trespass on the dead; everything left behind a gift, an inheritance, no matter how unintentional.” Thao Thai’s debut Banyan Moon (Mariner Books 2023) is a heart hug of a family saga. From the 1960s Vietnam toContinue reading “BANYAN MOON – Thao Thai”
A Girl Named Tommi 