“Irma Voth” by Miriam Toews
I enjoyed this tale of a young Mennonite girl marooned on a claustrophobic family compound in rural Mexico. At 19 she has already been through a lot, marrying…
Questions for Preeta Samarasan?
I am interviewing Preeta Samarasan this week, author of Evening is the Whole Day. If there are any questions you’d like me…
“Tomorrow Pamplona” by Jan van Mersbergen
A road trip taken by two men across Europe to the bull-running at Pamplona. The set-up appealed to me: it’s quite similar…
Best reading/writing sites
Kinga at the Book Snob has a great post listing the 21 best sites about reading and writing. Along with well-known ones…
Happy Birthday, Amnesty!
This weekend marks the 50th birthday of Amnesty International, an organisation I’ve been a member of since I was a teenager. It…
“Letter to D” by André Gorz
D is André Gorz’s 82-year-old, terminally ill wife, and this short book is a letter written to her about a year before they both committed suicide at the…
“Death At Intervals” by Jose Saramago
I love the premise of this book. One day, in a particular country, people stop dying. They still get old, get sick,…
Luke Bitmead’s birthday
I had a message today from the mother of Luke Bitmead, the Legend Press novelist who died tragically young. 13th May is…
Admitting defeat
I don’t often admit defeat when I’m reading. I tend to slog away to the end of a book, even if I’m…