Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett
[sing “I am whaling” to the tune of Rod Stewart’s ‘Sailing’]
Tag: contemporary fiction
Seven Terrors by Selvedin Avdić
phenomenal pop-post-modernist novel straight outta bosnia
Three Dreams in the Key of G by Marc Nash
three split narratives, one of which confused me…
Street of Thieves by Mathias Enard
another ruddy belter from enard who i love
Hasard Objectif by Joanna Walsh
love love love love love… and books
Nowhere to go but back again by Dizz Tate
short blog on a goldsmiths short
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
im blue abadadee abadie
The Tryst by Monique Roffey
another sexy sexy sex book
Such Small Hands by Andrés Barba
Digression-free review of some new literary fiction
Blue Self-Portrait by Noémi Lefebvre
Some newly-translated cracking French fiction
Dark Chapter by Winnie M Li
An important new novel about sexual assault. Long post.
Gross In Feather, Loud In Voice by Judson Hamilton
Emotive, bizarre, inventive, stories.
The Night Visitors by Jenn Ashworth & Richard V. Hirst
Great book, plus lots about why I didn’t win the award I was shortlisted for.
All The Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld
A good novel about regret and running away
Attrib. and other stories by Eley Williams
drowning in sobriety like I used to drown in booze; even sublime prose can’t hoist me happy
Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett
Pond is great, but like My Chemical Romance, I’m Not OK.
Beatlebone by Kevin Barry
We need to talk about how you wouldn’t get a literary novelist called Kevin in England
The Faithful Couple by A.D. Miller
A rare book on male friendship, but do we need more books starring rich hetero white men?
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
books on race loved by the privileged make me nervous
Dysfunctional Males by Fernando Sdrigotti
Men are disgusting.
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
some contemporary literary fiction about scotland
Open City by Teju Cole
transcript of a presentation from happier days
Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
Max Porter Works In Publishing
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
This dystopian novel feels a bit too 2016…
Zone by Mathias Enard
pleasure is a lightening bolt that leaves no trace
Radar Road: The Best of On Impulse by Nath Jones
A short story collection, and my first experience of an eBook.
Love Notes to Men Who Don’t Read by North Morgan
Absolutely knock out novel about the gay bro scene.
Vampire in Love by Enrique Vila-Matas
Experimental late 20th century short fiction.
The Short Anthology: The Second Issue (edited by Will Martin & Kat Phan)
A collection of short fiction inspired by photography.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Can I write about writing about race without discussing race? No.
Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume
I don’t know where this book came from. I know I bought it, I’m pretty certain I went out ofContinue Reading
Martin John by Anakana Schofield
I’ve accidentally grown a goatee and as a result of this I now look like a sex pervert*. This wasContinue Reading
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante
When I read the first volume of Elena Ferrante’s lauded Neapolitan Novels series, many of the conversations being had about itContinue Reading
The Open Pen Anthology (edited by Sean Preston)
Open Pen is a free literary magazine that publishes new writing. It is distributed in various bookshops both within (andContinue Reading
Devotion by Ros Barber
Ros Barber was one of my lecturers when I did my Creative Writing MA, and Ros Barber is one ofContinue Reading
Killing and Dying by Adrian Tomine
What next? I thought I’d go with something a little different, a little rounder, wider, more fictional and less harrowing.Continue Reading
The Neva Star: A Story by C.D. Rose
One of the good things about a sober evening is the mental energy to read. This is the only way IContinue Reading
Some Rain Must Fall: My Struggle Book Five by Karl Ove Knausgaard
It’s taken me a few more days than I’d hoped, but I’ve just finished reading the fifth book of KarlContinue Reading
Lurid & Cute by Adam Thirlwell
I’m on a bit of a time constraint with this post, as I have to leave the house in aboutContinue Reading
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
This is the 300th book review I have posted on this blog*, and it seems appropriate that its focus is aContinue Reading
Mr Darwin’s Gardener by Kristina Carlson
Mr Darwin’s Gardener is a beautiful, modernist novella about the late 19th century inhabitants of the small village inContinue Reading
Midland: A Novel Out of Time by Honor Gavin
midlands novel and a road trip into childhood
Purity by Jonathan Franzen
I read every other novel by Jonathan Franzen during a period of about 18 months after really, really enjoying FreedomContinue Reading
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a big, serious novel all about big, serious things. It is intelligent, articulate, humaneContinue Reading
Love, Sex & Other Foreign Policy Goals by Jesse Armstrong
Until yesterday, when I read the last 100 pages of Jesse Armstrong’s Love, Sex & Other Foreign Policy Goals, IContinue Reading
Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre
I often state that me taking more than a week to read anything, irrelevant of size, is a sign thatContinue Reading
A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride
Eimear McBride’s A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing was a surprise critical smash in the heady days of 2013/14, atContinue Reading
The Tongues of Men or Angels by Jonathan Trigell
I like Biblical novels. So much so that I wrote one*, and so much so that after reading about ten/twenty,Continue Reading
Getting Colder by Amanda Coe
Getting Colder by Amanda Coe is a great, contemporary novel. It is fun, quite haunting in places and it isContinue Reading
The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth
The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth was a surprising literary hit of 2014. Not a “literary hit” in that it soldContinue Reading
Triumph Of The Now 