Fiction review by GP Hyde
(spoiler-free review) At a glance, this novel seems to tread in the footsteps of a current favourite of UK TV drama – that of a police procedural investigation of a cold case from decades ago. But this initial impression is rapidly dispelled. Sebastian Barry shows us a retired police sergeant, Tom Kettle, alone in his […]
Review of Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry Read More »
Enjoyable read but take it slowly William Boyd has a strong record of writing lengthy novels featuring the life journey of a singular individual. There is Brodie Moncur in ‘Love is Blind’, Amory Clay in ‘Sweet Caress’ and Logan Mountstuart in ‘Any Human Heart.’ Here we have another unique individual, Cashel Ross in ‘The Romantic‘,
Review of ‘The Romantic’ by William Boyd Read More »
Philip and Freda are outsiders, one by his choice of pacifism and the other by her circumstances, who struggle to survive as WW2 breaks out in Europe. Philip is a young man conflicted with anxieties and doubts about his relationships with Jess and her brother Peter. He struggles with making his way in the world,
Review of Flatlands by Sue Hubbard Read More »
The lockdown during the pandemic of 2020/21 produced a good deal of writing from people forced to be alone in a room. Celebrity and established authors produced memoirs, novels, children’s books. The L word might be a turn-off for many people – after all, why write about something we all experienced and are happy to
Review of The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller Read More »
This is a novel about families. But these families are the polar opposites of ‘cereal box families’ where Mom bakes good wholesome apple pies. These families are psychotic, cruel and dysfunctional in the extreme. They are dominated by Conor Geary, an extreme misogynist, despising and loathing women. This is a deeply uncomfortable story of his
Review of Strange Sally Diamond Read More »
Inside these 496 pages, there is a great 300 page novel trying to get out. Ironically, Ian McEwan (IM) himself said in 2014 ‘very few long novels earn their length’ and went on to say ‘my fingers are always itching for a blue pencil’. There’s no doubt that IM is still writing phenomenally well with
Review of Lessons by Ian McEwan Read More »
I wanted to write a good review of Trio by William Boyd but regretfully this novel is quite a disappointment. It’s as if he had a tidy-up in his study, found some drafts of bits and pieces, decided they were too good to throw out and combined them into a novel. There’s an interesting structure
Review of Trio by William Boyd Read More »
This is a novel about two nine-year-olds, Mayken and Gil. Mayken lives in 1629 and Gil in 1989. Both live in enclosed worlds. Mayken sis on the newly built ship Batavia, is journeying half way round the world to the Dutch East Indies to be reunited with her wealthy father now that her mother has
Review of The Night Ship by Jess Kidd Read More »
Whenever I see a master craftworker (potter, carpenter, whoever), I’m always impressed by how they make their craft seem effortless. Donal Ryan is such a craftworker. He writes so that the words flow effortlessly on to the page, beautifully crafted and immensely evocative. Everyparagraph is like a prose-poem with each sentence creating a scene but
Review of The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan Read More »
I wrote this review of Barbarians by Tim Glencross in 2021 seven years after its publication. This is a novel which was met with acclaim at the time. Several literary awards shortlisted it for Best First Novel. I read it as an opportunity to see how the political landscape has changed and how well Barbarians
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