“The great tragic love story of Percy and me is neither great nor truly a love story, and is tragic only for its single-sidedness. It is also not an epic monolith that has plagued me since boyhood, as might be expected. Rather, it is simply the tale of how two people can be important to […]
MoreThis House is Haunted is written in a way that recalls the period in which the story takes places using some of that time’s turn of phrases and other expressions. Both the dialogue and the narration seem over-the-top, punctuated by exaggerations as to keep in faith with the period of the story making the whole […]
MoreA moving tale in which language is key. Patchett’s lyrical prose vividly renders a – somehow – surreal situation by focusing on the mundane: we see terrorists and hostages take part in ordinary everyday things (such as cooking, listening to music, playing chess…). A whimsical and absorbing story where characters albeit being limited by ‘language’ […]
More“Actors are by nature volatile–alchemic creatures composed of incendiary elements, emotion and ego and envy. Heat them up stir them together, and sometimes you get gold. Sometimes disaster.” An enjoyable debut novel that delivers plenty of Shakespearean ‘nuggets’.To label this story a mystery is a mistake. It isn’t. It is quite obvious what has happened, […]
MoreThis was quite an epic. This novel follows Cyril Avery and depicts the hardships and misadventures he experiences throughout his life. Adopted by two rather distant parents his views on love and family are, from the very start, somewhat unusual. He falls in love with his best friend Julian, a person whom he admires far […]
MoreThere are several reasons why 11/22/63 should not have appealed me. First of all, I’m European. So I knew nil very little about Kennedy and American politics. On top of that, I was born in the late nineties, so I am probably not part of this book’s ideal target audience.And yet, I devoured this 730 […]
More“Would you say you are a person who follows her head or her heart?”She stared at him, momentarily diverted. Such an odd thing to ask. “I am rational person, sir. I believe I follow my head.”“I see.” The Comte boed. “Then I wish you good luck.” After having recently read a few sequel that suffered […]
MoreLUNA A review by The Guardian of Luna perfectly captures the novel’s content by calling it a ‘cut-throat soap opera in space’ in which ‘Mafia-style mining families’ clash with one another. Ian McDonald’s has written a vicious and intense story populated by an array of brutally fierce families that compete against each other to exploit […]
MoreA brilliantly executed novel that depicts the complex and passionate relationship between a close group of friends. In many ways, it reminded me of The Secret History.Gripping and full of suspense, The Likeness is so much more than your usual crime novel. French pays incredible attention when portraying her characters and their relationships with one […]
More“She was a monster but she was my monster.” Despite addressing ‘heavy’ topics, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? is a fast read.Earlier this year I read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. For the most part I liked it (I gave it 3 stars) but I wasn’t too taken by it. So […]
More