August Reading Roundup
When I first started this blog (over ten years ago now!), I intended to review every book I read. Even by September 2008, I was already talking about that intention in the past tense, and by now I have to…
A Shocking Memoir From a Stolen Generation
I learnt about Of Ashes and Rivers That Run to the Sea from Emma’s excellent review on Book Around the Corner. It’s a very moving memoir by a woman, Marie Munkara, who was taken from her Aboriginal family in northern Australia…
50 Years of the Man Booker Prize
To celebrate 50 years of the Man Booker Prize, Shiny New Books is reviewing the winners by decade. Read my review of Last Orders by Graham Swift.
Happiness by Aminatta Forna: Review
Although in her previous novels Aminatta Forna has grappled with wars and atrocities in Sierra Leone and the former Yugoslavia, her latest novel, titled Happiness and set in the heart of London, may be her most challenging undertaking yet.
Review of Border by Kapka Kassabova
Have you ever read a book that seemed to contain all the right ingredients but somehow failed to live up to your expectations? That's how I felt after reading Border by Kapka Kassabova.
Review: Electric Arches by Eve L. Ewing
"This book is about my life and maybe also your life. And it is about the places we invent. Every story in it is absolutely true."
“H is for Hawk” by Helen Macdonald: Review
H is for Hawk is a beautiful evocation of grief and the way in which the sudden death of a loved on can rip away your sense of control over the world, reminding you that you are powerless in the…
“Tram 83” by Fiston Mwanza Mujila: Review
It isn't every day that you get to read a Congolese novel in English. In fact, the last time it happened, the country was still called Zaire. Tram 83 is an innovative literary novel that also deals with issues like…
“In Praise of Hatred” by Khaled Khalifa: Review
The transition from childhood to adulthood can often be tough. It must be even harder when you're a teenage girl in Syria who feels drawn to radical Islamist ideology but also has forbidden lesbian fantasies about her best friend.