Midnight Sun, by Jo Nesbo
Jo Nesbo’s famous “Harry Hole” detective novels, and his other works for adults, bear the marks of contemporary Scandinavian NoirContinue Reading
Project Type: Modern fiction
Mary Coin, by Marisa Silver
Recently, while PBS was airing the documentary The Dust Bowl by Ken Burns, I bought Mary Coin by Marisa Silver. IContinue 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 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 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
Aphrodite’s War, by Andrea Busfield
It is Cyprus, 1955, and fighting erupts in the devastating civil war. Young Greek “Loukis”, bent on revenge and toContinue Reading
The High Mountains of Portugal, by Yann Martel
Let’s just get one thing out of the way: the title of the book and the setting: First, there areContinue Reading
Moonstone – The Boy Who Never Was, by Sjón
This novel is set in 1918 Reykjavik and has themes of homosexuality, the first movies, the great Spanish flu epidemic, the arrival of the independence of Iceland, the eruption of the local volcano, Katla, the First World War, the cruel treatment of lepers and homosexuals, and the Icelandic obsession over the “perversion” they believed was caused by watching too may films.
The Whispering Muse, by Sjón
In The Whispering Muse, the first person narrator is “Valdimar Haraldsson”, who is something of a pompous ass who has spent his life obsessed with the connection between fish and the superiority of Nordic Culture, and was the publisher of an obscure publication on that subject.
The Grass is Singing, by Doris Lessing
Unlike the books of other Southern African authors of world class stature, Breyten Breytenbach, JM Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Alan Paton or André P. Brink, that I have read and re-read, the only book of by Doris Lessing I have read is “The Grass Is Singing”.
Skeletons at the Feast, by Chris Bohjalian
This novel turns the subject of survival during the Holocaust and escape from Germany on its head. Instead of refugeesContinue Reading
Only Say the Word, by Niall Williams
The frame narrative of this intriguing and sad novel is a writer, “Jim Foley”, who has “…written all these pagesContinue Reading
Wish You Were Here, by Graham Swift
In this novel Swift describes the same thing, over and over and over again, in the most painstaking detail. TheContinue Reading
The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
“The Rosie Project” is written from the point of view of a man who shows quite a few symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome. He is precise, pedantic, unsocial, uncommunicative, excessively analytical and non-empathetic.
And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini
Hosseini has a genius for capturing and depicting, in the most pared-down, discreetly poetic words, the poignancy and passion of relationships as well as the horrors of deprivation and separation. I thought it would make me cry, and it did.
Umbrella, by Will Self
You have to be determined to finish “Umbrella”. It’s 379 pages of text with no line breaks. Seriously. Self does not use paragraph breaks, nor indents, nor chapters to structure his narrative or help the reader to make sense of what’s going on. At an average of 13 words per line, 29 lines per page, this makes 142,883 words, non-stop.
The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson
This seemed to be a good idea for a novel – an old-age-pensioner version of “Forrest Gump”. It was mildly funny and entertaining at first, but it becomes predictable. It is basically a modern version of a folkloristic quest tale.
Lights Out In Wonderland, by DBC Pierre
Vicariously living the drug-addled, suicide-obsessed life of the delinquent first-person narrator, “Gabriel Brockwell”, in DBC Pierre’s “Lights Out in Wonderland”, was a strange and unnerving experience. But I got through it, mainly because I was too weirded-out to stop reading.
The Elephant Keepers’ Children, by Peter Høeg
The trick to understanding Peter Høeg’s writing is to pay attention from the first page, in this case, the cover.Continue Reading
Lionel ASBO, by Martin Amis
This is satire, and it bites hard. Lionel ASBO ( his surname stands for Anti-Social Behaviour Order) is possibly theContinue Reading
Worst. Person. Ever. by Douglas Coupland
In “The Guardian” Douglas Coupland was described as “…possibly the most gifted exegete of North American mass culture writing today.” So I apologize in advance for what I’m about to say to all the fans of Douglas Coupland.
Rhino Ranch, by Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry knows how to write, that’s for sure. His technique is perfectly suited to his subject matter, in this case, Texas country: strong, no-nonsense and to the point, like the State, by reputation; dry and a bit caustic, like the cowboys and oilmen of whom he writes.
The Quarry, by Iain Banks
“The Quarry” was Iain Banks’ last novel before he died of cancer in June 2013.
Amnesia, by Peter Carey
In Peter Carey’s new novel, “Amnesia”, the subtext of press freedom is woven through a plot about hacking, love, eco-terrorism, politics and journalism.
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
While the plot of “The Goldfinch” revolves around art, it is not a Künstlerroman about an artist’s growth to maturity, but rather a Bildungsroman about an art lover’s growth to maturity, with the 17th century artist, Carl Fabritius, as an ever-present type of Ghost in the Machine.
The Zone of Interest, by Martin Amis
“The Zone of Interest” is set in the giant death camp and rubber works at Auschwitz III, and describes the role of IG Farben, a German chemical industry conglomerate, notorious for its role in the Holocaust.
The Family Fang, by Kevin Wilson
It says on the cover that “The Family Fang” is a comedy – But I did not find it funny. Engrossing, yes, but leaving a nasty taste in the mouth, and reminiscent of a number of other equally discomforting stories about dysfunctional families.
Hausfrau, by Jill Alexander Essbaum
The lead character in “Hausfrau”, “Anna Benz”, must be one of the most disagreeable people I have had the misfortune to experience in a novel. Not vicious or dangerous, but rather self-indulgent, passive, helpless, self-pitying, weak, out of control, and needy oh, good grief, so needy.
Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee
“Go Set a Watchman” is adroitly written, with hardly a word out of place and nothing extraneous or repetitive. Reading it as a novel of and about the 1950s it is still interesting and (quite surprisingly) engaging.
Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
Fifty shades of Grey is famous despite breaking some of the basic rules for writing good erotic fiction, more precisely,Continue Reading
Secretary, by Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay), Mary Gaitskill (short story)
On the subject of erotic fiction, an unsettling and memorable example is Secretary, the 2002 film, in which the reservedContinue Reading
A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
“A Man Called Ove” is written in a simple, highly structured way, with the same expressions and images repeated over and over and the same things happening again and again in each chapter.
Espedair Street, by Iain Banks
I am a total Iain Banks fan, so was looking forward to Espedair Street, which was first published in 1987.Continue Reading
The Exiles Return, by Elizabeth de Waal
I loved, no, adored, The Hare with Amber Eyes, by Edmund de Waal, so I read this, which is byContinue Reading
Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan
I picked this one because of my fascination with the…errmmm…crazy rich Asians making new homes in Canada, chasing up propertyContinue Reading
The Weekend, by Bernhard Schlink
Readers who appreciated The Reader (1995), by Schlink, would want to pick up this more recent novel (the translation wasContinue Reading
The Girl in the Spider’s Web, by David Lagercrantz
In August 2015, the Swedish publisher Norstedts published a fourth Millennium book, written by Swedish author David Lagercrantz, called TheContinue Reading
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz
In “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”, the language is the problem – it might as well have been partially written in Klingon for all I understood of it when I read it the first time.
A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
Towles conjures up a romantic and fascinatingly intricate pre-WWII-era hotel in Moscow, the “Metropol Hotel”, in which the main character, “Count Alexander Rostov”, lives. Readers will find this novel very entertaining and suspenseful.
Do Not Say We have Nothing, by Madeleine Thien
This important novel about two families of brilliant musicians in China during the “Great Leap Forward” (1958 – 1961), the “Cultural Revolution” (1966 – 1976) and the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, will have you crying buckets.
300 Days of Sun, by Deborah Lawrenson
Some magazines don’t publish negative reviews because they want to review books that people will buy. The problem with thatContinue Reading
Troll – A Love Story, by Johanna Sinisalo
If you’ve never imagined that trolls are an actual “thing” to people in Scandinavian countries, read this. Honest to Pete, you will come to believe this troll is as real as your dog or, more disconcertingly, your husband or wife.
The Evenings, by Gerard Reve
This is the first English translation, published in January 2017, of the famous Dutch novel. It is a novel aboutContinue Reading
Britt-Marie Was Here, by Fredrik Backman
When Backman writes, he repeats certain words and phrases over and over, and makes each chapter and paragraph follow the same basic pattern, so that it sounds almost like a children’s rhyme, a medieval poem, or a traditional fairytale.
Perfect Little World, by Kevin Wilson
The descriptions in Kevin Wilson’s latest novel, “Perfect Little World”, are not the descriptions you’d read in a medical handbook. They seem to be intensely personal and individualistic, even a bit voyeuristic.
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES 