‘It was almost like she seriously didn’t care about the exhaust system.’ This is why I enjoy Lianne Moriarty’s books. The third person narration offers a frequently amusing and consistently insightful look into people’s inner thoughts and closest relationships, usually supported by a gradually tightening suspense story. Having previously read and enjoyed several of Moriarty’s […]
We’re all familiar with the notion of a placebo. We all know how powerful placebos can be, but it’s perhaps rarer to recognise the power of noceboes. In ‘Humankind’, Rutger Bregman is determined to disabuse us of one particularly devastating nocebo, ‘veneer theory’. This is the widely accepted idea that our civil natures are only […]
Had enough of the dreaded virus dominating the news? How better to escape the anxieties induced by living in semi-lockdown, caused by a troublesome new virus, than to read a crime thriller exploring a world in which, erm, a troublesome new virus is wreaking havoc in London? Louise Welsh’s superbly atmospheric novel makes it clear […]
No, I haven’t branched out into reviewing erotica. The title of Tsutsui’s collection is apt, however, as it features stories which are always bizarre and frequently feature sexual deviance. Of course, normality and sexual propriety are cultural constructs, and Tsutsui delights in tearing these apart to examine them. Amongst this apparently wanton destruction, the reader […]
‘Dark, disturbing and authentic.’ This was the CWA judging panel’s judgement and I completely agree with this description (whilst noting that I don’t know enough about prisons to comment accurately on the third, but the officers’ attitudes feel plausible). So why did ‘The Woman Before Me’ win the CWA’s debut dagger? What’s it about? Rose […]
Imagine a world where ‘sharing’ is valued above all and privacy is considered a dangerous perversion. Such is the world Elton evokes in his 2007 tale of a world that’s exiled experts and lives in a state of ‘Blind Faith’, a world in which ignorance is feted as wisdom and everyone knows everything about everybody. […]
So it turns out Neo was right; we are living in a matrix. Or, more accurately, reality is not ‘real’ but the constant creation of our ever-busy brains, which are significantly more powerful than any man-made computer, constantly interpreting the world around us to create the perception of a rich sensory environment. Did you know […]
Have I mentioned before how much I love Jasper Fforde’s books? I must have done, because they are all fantastic fun and I reviewed the fabulous ‘Early Riser’ a couple of years ago, but it’s worth stating again. These are fabulous books for anyone with a sense of humour who enjoys books about books and […]
So this is 2020. I think most of us may be in need of a little light relief by now. This being the case, I should like to draw your attention towards the latest (highly entertaining) book from cartoonist and habitually overwhelmed mum of three boys, Katie Kirby. What’s it about? I am definitely going […]
It normally makes a brilliant party, the murder game. But that’s only true when no one actually dies… What’s it about? Secrets. Shame. The ancient history that binds friends together long past the expiration of their shared joy. The set up: Polskirrin, a beautiful house on a remote Cornish coastline. Eight guests, two hosts and […]