THE ATTIC CHILD – Lola Jaye

“Until the lions have their own histories, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” – African proverb, quoted by Chinua Achebe in “The Art of Fiction,” The Paris Review, no. 139 Lola Jaye writes in the author’s note of The Attic Child (William Morrow 2022) that the novel is her “attempt toContinue reading “THE ATTIC CHILD – Lola Jaye”

TREACLE WALKER – Alan Garner

“There was a whispering, silence; and on the floor the snow melted to tears.” Alan Garner’s Treacle Walker (4th Estate, HarperCollins 2021) was my final read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist. Having read it, I’m a bit surprised this slim, little oddity of a novel made the shortlist; but it did, and Garner isContinue reading “TREACLE WALKER – Alan Garner”

STONE BLIND – Natalie Haynes

“I see you. I see all those who men call monsters. And I see the men who call them that. Call themselves heroes, of course.” The story of Medusa isn’t about just Medusa.  It could never be just about Medusa because mythology weaves in and out. The gods and goddesses, the Fates and Greys andContinue reading “STONE BLIND – Natalie Haynes”