A Long Way From Home, by Peter Carey
When Peter Carey’s latest novel, A long Way from Home, came out in Feb. 2018, I thought the subject wasContinue Reading
Project Tag: Modern fiction
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
In this novel about stinking rich Long Islanders and wanna-be stinking rich Long Islanders, set in the Roaring Twenties, theContinue Reading
In the Company of Angels, by Thomas E. Kennedy
In the Company of Angels is a heart-rending, hopeful story of survival. “Bernardo”, who was imprisoned and tortured by Pinochet’sContinue Reading
Hollywood, by Charles Bukowski
He wrote about down and out Americans, drinking, horse racing, broads, the drudgery of work, and the craziness of the system.
Hollywood Wives, by Jackie Collins – and her other books
Would you admit you are a reader of Jackie Collins novels? Some would not. The highly successful Jacqueline Jill CollinsContinue Reading
Girl In Translation, by Jean Kwok
An old Czech proverb goes: You live a new life for every new language you speak – If you knowContinue Reading
The Believers, by Zoë Heller
Written with clarity, conviction and dry humour, it is gripping from about p. 3 right to the end.
Sweet Temptation, by Lucy Diamond
At first glance Sweet Temptation looks like chick lit., and it is – that is what she has been labeledContinue Reading
Revenge, by Sharon Osbourne
Like Osbourne herself, the novel combines a slick, inoffensive exterior with critical mentality inside.
Mr. Toppit, by Charles Elton
In “Mr. Toppit” Elton has created a fairy-tale within a tale, with suitably Grimm-like ominous overtones.
Light Reading, by Aliya Whiteley
To summarize the plot: “Lena” and “Pru” are friends, but tell each other little – and sometimes big – whiteContinue Reading
The Consequences of Love, by Suleiman Addonia
The problem with this debut novel is that it is precisely what the title says it is: a story aboutContinue Reading
The Castle in the Pyrenees, by Jostein Gaarder
The title refers to the painting “Le Château des Pyrénées” by the Surrealist René Magritte. Understanding this reference will help you to make sense of this intricate, multi-faceted novel.
The Temple-goers, by Aatish Taseer
Taseer dumps his readers headlong into the exotic, teeming morass that is Delhi, India, where every aspect of modern life is constrained and permeated by the ancient and rigid caste system.
The Surrendered, by Chang-Rae Lee
“The formal device of characterization in Chang-rae Lee’s novel, <emThe Surrendered, depicts differences between the ontology of race and the ontology of disability in ways that reveal the stakes of reading at the intersection of Asian American studies and disability studies.” – Stephanie Hsu
The Stepmother’s Diary, by Fay Weldon
This contemporary “subversion” of the traditional Wicked Stepmother fairytale comes highly recommended for holiday reading. The plot revolves around “Sappho”,Continue Reading
The Sonnet Lover, by Carol Goodman
This novel, a present-day mystery about a historical figure, is based on an interesting literary conundrum:- Did William Shakespeare haveContinue Reading
The Songwriter, by Beatrice Colin
If you want a read that will grip you to such an extent that you will slurp up every pageContinue Reading
The Piano Teacher, by Janice Y.K. Lee
In 1952, recently married ingénue “Claire Pendleton” arrives in Hong Kong with her dull husband, and gets involved with the enigmaticContinue Reading
The Old Child & The Book of Words, by Jenny Erpenbeck
This unusual edition contains two short novels – or long short stories – that were first published five years apart.Continue Reading
The Man Who Smiled, by Henning Mankell
They say that Henning Mankell has a fan base that is as crazy about him and his books as, let’sContinue Reading
The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite, by Beatrice Colin
“Nazis never go out of fashion, fictionally speaking, although Beatrice Colin’s improbably named heroine (born in a cloud of cigarContinue Reading
The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend, Marilyn Monroe, by Andrew O’Hagan
This novel is enjoyable for mainly one reason – the narrator, “Maf”, is a dog. He is a well-spoken, aristocraticContinue Reading
We Are All Made of Glue, by Marina Lewycka
Lewycka has a truly original voice – quirky, unsettling, eyebrow-raising. All her novels thus far feature unusual settings, depict somewhatContinue Reading
To Love, Honour and Betray, by Kathy Lette
Do you know what an “airline blonde” is? Blonde hair, black box. Yes, I know that’s terrible. But Kathy Lette’sContinue Reading
The Unfixed Stars, by Michael Byers
In this novel, Byers depicts the suspenseful search for Planet X, the 9th planet in our solar system, a storyContinue Reading
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES 