I wasn’t immediately aware that this was actually my second book by Xiaolu Guo until I began reading it, but from the moment I started, I was captivated by its…
You know a book has left its mark when you rush to find more books by the same author… only to feel that pang of disappointment when you discover it’s…
I really wanted to love this book more than I did. I knew this book had been controversial/banned when it first came out in 1965 so I was expecting a…
A devastating read that’s even more terrifying when you realise it’s based on a real Floridian “reform school” – Dozier. What horrors and secrets lie in the archives and burial…
I remember a bookseller being super judgemental when I asked whether he stocked this title! It was honestly a pretty funny moment as I am very confident in my literary…
Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Gravel Heart is a beautifully written novel that reads like a memoir, yet at its core, it’s a poignant exploration of family secrets, displacement, and the immigrant experience….
This debut novel set in small-town America is not always a 100% tone perfect read, but it is definitely worth checking out. It’s exuberant and joyful, yet also hits hard…
This was a fun holiday read. Arson has erupted at a baby shower. It is a hot summer’s day and everyone and everything is melting, including the fancy cupcakes. What…
This was my first Marjorie Allingham and it was a fun Blitz era romp set in a London worn down by the war. Published in 1945, it would have been…
I’ve read a lot of Rachel Cusk, and I was really surprised that I had never actually finished the Outline trilogy! It was fun to visit my “lockdown” author and…