What Am I Reading?
So Late in the Day – Claire Keegan
Irish author Claire Keegan’s latest work, So Late in the Day (Faber and Faber 2023) is, like all her writing, a short, sharp novella, an intimate portrayal of a particular situation and character with not a word wasted. This story of only 47 pages takes place over one...
Caledonian Road – Andrew O’Hagan
At 641 pages, Caledonian Road (Faber and Faber 2024) by Andrew O’Hagan, is a doorstop of a book, a hefty, weighty read that tells multiple interconnected plot threads from the perspective of numerous characters. It is a book to be devoured for the beauty of the...
A Grief Observed (Readers’ Edition) – C.S. Lewis
Famous author C. S. Lewis wrote this touching and devastating account of his grief after his wife Joy died from cancer. Short, sharp, meditative and questioning, he struggles with his rage, his sorrow and his faith. First published in 1960, a year after his wife’s...
The Hummingbird Effect – Kate Mildenhall
Author Kate Mildenhall’s novels feature strong female protagonists faced with challenging personal and often also social dilemmas, centred within the broader spectrum of what is going on in the world at the time. Her third novel, The Hummingbird Effect (Simon and...
Long Island – Colm Toibin
Long Island (Picador 2024) is another fine, evocative and literary novel from one of the great writers in English, Colm Toibin. Continuing the tale of Irishwoman Eilis Lacey (from his novel Brooklyn), Toibin narrates the story of her marriage to Italian American...
The Road to the Country – Chigozie Obioma
Nigerian / US author Chigozie Obioma first had me enthralled with his stunning debut The Fishermen, followed by the extraordinary An Orchestra of Minorities. His third novel, just released, is The Road to the Country (Penguin Random House 2024), yet another...
What You Are Looking For is in the Library – Michiko Aoyama
What You Are Looking For is in the Library (Penguin Random House 2023) is a charming and endearing novel by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts, in praise of all things reading, books and most importantly, libraries. Each of the five chapters begins by stating...
The Glass House – Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion
Power duo Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion’s latest co-authored work is The Glass House (Hachette 2024), a highly engaging and readable story set in the frontline of the Menzies Mental Health Service, where psychiatry registrar Dr Hannah Wright struggles to make...
Shy – Max Porter
Max Porter is an exquisite writer known for his sparse, verse-like prose, his experimental style and his insight and curiosity into the human condition. His latest novella Shy (Faber and Faber 2023) is a short but powerful contemporary exploration of the troubled...
How To Fly (in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons) – Barbara Kingsolver
Poetry has been a balm for me in recent months so I was delighted to receive from a friend (thanks Kate Mildenhall) How To Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons) by Barbara Kingsolver, published by Faber and Faber Bloomsbury in 2021. I didn’t even know this talented...
The Wren, The Wren – Anne Enright
Anne Enright is another of my favourite Irish authors, with The Gathering and The Green Road absolute standouts for me. Her latest novel, The Wren, The Wren (Penguin Random House 2023) is certainly a great achievement (although for me, The Gathering remains my number...
Never Look Desperate – Rachel Matthews
Rachel Matthews’ third novel Never Look Desperate (Transit Lounge 2023) is a light-hearted, funny, satirical and sardonic story that nevertheless transverses some heavy emotional ground such as family dynamics, aging, parent/adult child relationships, despair and...