Once again, I am in the minority as I did not find Red Pill to be a particularly artful or clever novel. To be clear, I do think that Hari Kunzru can write very well indeed, however, his narrative struck me as all flash and no substance. I was amused by the first quarter of […]
More“I have learned one of the lessons of loneliness, one of its shocking side effects: when you are in a state of longing, desire goes on and on, like an ocean without a shore.” An Ocean Without a Shore surprised me. In the very first page our narrator, Kip Woods, informs us that he’s awaiting […]
MoreWhile Kathleen Jennings is an undeniably wonderful illustrator, I’m afraid that I wasn’t particularly impressed by her novella. What first struck me as somewhat discordant in Flyaway was the prose itself. At times the writing was clunky and there were passages that seemed as if they were trying to echo someone else’s style. The way […]
MoreThe opening lines of this novel are wonderfully theatrical: “All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral, although one of us was in a coffin.” Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent is a gleefully dark novel, filled with mean, selfish, and cruel individuals. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Nugent’s latest […]
MoreSet against the opioid crisis in Philadelphia Liz Moore’s thought-provoking novel portrays the long-lasting and devastating effects that addiction have on an individual, on a family, and on an entire neighbourhood. “These girls, he says. He looks at me and puts one finger to his right temple, taps it twice. Stupid, is what he means. […]
MoreThe Murder of Roger Ackroyd is an excellent example of why I consider Agatha Christie to be the Queen of Crime. “Fortunately words, ingeniously used, will serve to mask the ugliness of naked facts.” It’s curious that one of the most influential crime novels ever written came about by accident. The idea for this novel […]
More“Bow all your heads to our adored Mary Katherine.” In recent years Shirley Jackson has experienced a kind of renascence. Perhaps because of Netflix’s adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House or possibly thanks to contemporary authors (such as Donna Tartt, Neil Gaiman, and Stephen King) who have credited Jackson as their inspiration, enhancing her […]
MoreThis is the type of non-literary book that has literary aspirations yet its laboured attempts to imbue its story and characters with a certain dose of moral ambiguity and depth ultimately fall flat. In spite of its intriguing first few chapters The Truants soon followed the well-treaded path of similar campus/college novels: we have a […]
MoreLast summer I read and loved Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind. It was a fun romp filled with melodrama which owed much to 19th century sensationalism (in that it implemented puzzles, Gothic and Romantic elements, clever twists towards an overarching quest of sorts). Reading that book was a fun experience. Although The Angel’s Game […]
MoreEverything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Mejia ★★★✰✰ 3 stars Last summer I read Mejia’s latest novel Leave No Trace: A Novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it had a suspenseful and fast-paced story with alluring main characters. While Everything You Want Me to Be is an undoubtedly well-written novel that […]
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