Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal
a pre-release post on a novella about Russian conscripts
Tag: contemporary literature
Jarett Kobek & the Zodiac Killer (Motor Spirit & The Hunt for Zodiac)
two new books from Jarett Kobek about CRIME CRIME CRIME
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark (Influx Press, 2020)
a week off work begins with a great contemporary novel
Surrender by Joanna Pocock
big post on privilege, re-wilding, ageing; a phenomenal read
Cygnet by Season Butler
a solid contemporary novel
Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante
a truly phenomenal novel but Scotty still depressed
People I’ve Met From The Internet by Stephen van Dyck
an essential contemporary memoir
I Am A Truck by Michelle Winters
very very very good novella from 2016
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
a solid, if unambitious, novel from a major contemporary voice
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
great playful (tho violent!) contemporary Nigerian novel
Tentacle by Rita Indiana
a fantastic contemporary novella
I Love Dick by Chris Kraus
a little bit of Vitamin D…
Every Fox Is A Rabid Fox by Harry Gallon
death, dying, dead
I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell
near death experiences in a bad blog post
The First Day by Phil Harrison
mainstream literary fiction that I very nearly love
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
my thoughts on literature and class
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead’s intriguing, if imperfect, debut
Three Dreams in the Key of G by Marc Nash
three split narratives, one of which confused me…
Mi novio Caballo [My Boyfriend, the Horse] by Xiomara Correa
a book about modern love i.e. travel and drugs and sex with a horse
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 Africa In My House by Andrea Mbarushimana
A British woman considers the life of her Rwandan husband and his country.
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 Sellout by Paul Beatty
books on race loved by the privileged make me nervous
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
some contemporary literary fiction about scotland
White Girls by Hilton Als
Off the booze (again), I enjoy a book but despair of life.
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.
Consider the Lobster And Other Essays by David Foster Wallace
David bloody Foster bloody Wallace…
Football by Jean-Philippe Toussaint
Fitzcarraldo Editions is fast becoming my favourite publishing house. Simon Critchley’s Notes on Suicide was one of the best books IContinue 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
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
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
You Could Do Something Amazing With Your Life [You Are Raoul Moat] by Andrew Hankinson
My new puppy hasn’t been very well. I’ve spent the day taking him to the vets and watching him sleep,Continue 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
But You Did Not Come Back by Marceline Loridan-Ivens
I haven’t cried this much at a book in a while. I haven’t cried this much at a non-fiction bookContinue Reading
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
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
Triumph Of The Now 