Goshawk Common, Newford, Surrey. Not the most remarkable expanse of open country, scrubby grass and tumbling hillside in the south of England, just as Newford probably wasn't the most remarkable town. I fell in love with Common Ground and Ishiguro's writing from page one. The only weird part, for me, was the name of the … Continue reading Common Ground | Naomi Ishiguro #UKfiction
It is easier to feel young in new York. Lily Brett feels like one of my very dear old friends. I've been reading her fiction and non-fiction for over 20 years now. Most of her books I read pre-blog, with Lola Bensky being the only foray into her work during my blogging years (although I … Continue reading Old Seems to be Other People | Lily Brett #AWW
I once told you, Jeffers, about the time I met the devil on a train leaving Paris, and about how after that meeting the evil that usually lies undisturbed beneath the surface of things rose up and disgorged itself over every part of life. Second Place was my very first Rachel Cusk. Her work has … Continue reading Second Place | Rachel Cusk #UKfiction
First Person Singular has been my first foray into Murakami as a writer of short stories. I was somewhat wary. Having read and enjoyed his longer fiction (1q84, Kafka on the Shore, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage) and his non-fiction (What I Talk About When I Talk About Running) I wasn't sure … Continue reading First Person Singular | Haruki Murakami #ShortStories
The performance at the heart of The Performance is a Samuel Beckett play, Happy Days. It was Beckett’s sixth play, written in response to his wife requesting something less depressing. I'm not sure he knew how to do that though. The play revolves around a central character, Winnie, a woman in her fifties. In Act … Continue reading The Performance | Claire Thomas #AWW
Born Into This is a collection of short stories by an exciting new voice in Indigenous writing, Adam Thompson. Adam Thompson may be an emerging Pakana writer from Launceston, but there are powerful and promising things going on here. Some of his stories pack a serious punch, others creep in quietly under your skin. Either … Continue reading Born Into This | Adam Thompson #ShortStories
On the 2nd March 2021, Faber & Faber in the UK, Alfred A. Knopf in the US, Knopf in Canada and Allen & Unwin in Australia will publish Kazuo Ishiguro's latest novel, Klara and the Sun. This is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, … Continue reading Klara and the Sun | Kazuo Ishiguro #ReadtheNobels
Marie Curie is one of my personal heroes. Ever since my Year 12 science depth-study on her, (which incidentally helped me to top the class and receive my one and only first-in-class medal) I have been constantly drawn to her story. As part of my depth-study research, I read Ève Curie's bio about her mother, … Continue reading Marie Curie & Her Daughters | Imogen & Isobel Greenberg
What a hoot! Outlawed by Anna North was the perfect summer holiday book. Light and easy to read, with an interesting premise and an uncomplicated storyline. And a great cover! The story opens in late 19th-century America, though not quite the Old West we know. In this version of our past, the Great Flu of … Continue reading Outlawed | Anna North #USAfiction
2020 was the year of many things. Some planned and expected, like the War and Peace chapter-a-day readalong. But many things unexpected and impossible to plan for as well. Who knew that Plague-Lit would become a thing? Or that I would waste one whole perfectly good reading month by feeling weird and distracted about a certain … Continue reading 2021 Here We Come!
