“Books may well be the only true magic”, stated Alice Hoffman and her latest book, Magic Lessons, the latest in her Practical Magic series, is proof positive of this. While Practical Magic told the story of sisters Sally and Gillian, and The Rules of Magic, that of the indomitable aunts Frances and Jet, Magic Lessons […]Read More
By the acclaimed author of Psychogeography which has sold over 20,000 copies, Merlin Coverley is back with another book. Hauntology sets out to discover why contemporary culture is so preoccupied by the supernatural, so captivated with the past. In a period where we are nostalgic for the times before the pandemic, this novel is a […]Read More
Part fiction, part fact, part history and all Birmingham, Gangsters, Geezers & Mods by Stephen Pennell intertwines one man’s story with a host of astonishingly colourful characters and an equally evocative setting. It takes our dubious hero, with a steadfast reluctance to demean himself with proper work, from the back streets of Aston, to the […]Read More
Title: English Pastoral Author: James Rebanks What I Think So Far: Like an overwhelming 600+ books, James Rebanks’ new book English Pastoral was published following the Covid-19 lockdowns, on September 3rd. I happened upon English Pastoral in a shop window, glowing with a collaged display of new works begging to be read. Rebanks’ previous book, […]Read More
Set in Warsaw in the years leading up to the Second World War, Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Shosha is a captivating tale of love in times of great danger and uncertainty. The protagonist, Aaron Greidinger, is a struggling Jewish writer with aspirations of creating a masterpiece. He writes in Yiddish, which isn’t widely spoken in the […]Read More
Kindness is rarely looked upon with fondness when it comes to art. It is a view due for an assessment that kind is often deemed synonymous with boring. Rónán Hession’s debut novel Leonard and Hungry Paul is an extraordinary gentle wonder. Hession is perhaps better known as the Irish blues musician Mumblin’ Deaf Ro, based […]Read More
CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND EATING DISORDERS. Roxane Gay’s 2017 memoir Hunger, subtitled A Memoir Of (My) Body, presents itself as anexploration of Gay’s experiences as a morbidly obese person, but it is in fact so much more than that. In it she deals with all the facets of her identity that come with inhabiting […]Read More
Expectation by Anna Hope delves into the disappointed lives of three women, as years after graduating university, the gap between the lives they imagined for themselves, and the ones they ended up living, has inevitably widened. The first is Hannah. Her friends envy her successful London life, complete with a well-paying job and a husband. […]Read More
Imagine sitting on a train bound for London when you suddenly lose your memory. This is what seems to happen to John. I say seems, as little in Dennis Potter’s psychological thriller Ticket to Ride is exactly how it appears on the surface. Odd fragments from John’s past float in and out of his disoriented […]Read More
Title: Sorry I’m Late I Didn’t Want To Come Author: Jessica Pan What I Think So Far: To most, the idea of performing stand-up comedy or travelling solo is probably a scary prospect. To introverts, this is what the most terrifying of nightmares are made of. Jessica Pan’s book Sorry I’m Late I Didn’t Want […]Read More
Luckily, my mum has always demanded I read books that open my mind to new perspectives, that pique my interest in history, politics and culture from around the world. Thus, this meant that when the book lists relating to Black Lives Matter circulated, I had read the majority of them already. But, of course, there […]Read More
Kelly McWilliams’ debut novel, Agnes at the End of the World, has a unique premise that was perfectly suited to its timely release in the lockdown of August 2020. Slotting itself into the dystopian genre, this apocalyptic novel follows two sisters who live in a fundamentalist cult. The oldest sibling, Agnes, regularly meets with a […]Read More
When reading fiction, you’ll find that a lot of the time you are quite moved by the story.However, over time, it loses it power when you remember it is fictional. The intimateconnections with the characters you develop, and the tense following of the plot that playson your emotions begins to fade as the novelty wears […]Read More
Title: How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right? Author: Pandora Sykes What I Think So Far: From wellness to fast fashion to social media personas, the essays of Pandora Sykes’ new book, How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right? reflect on issues and anxieties relating to modern life. As a fan of both […]Read More
Sherwood Anderson’s book of short stories begins with an old writer thinking of the people he has known throughout his life. Particularly ingrained in his mind are the ‘grotesques’ of Winesburg, the small fictional town in Ohio that serves as the setting for each story. The writer is George Willard, who as a young man […]Read More
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