Archive for the ‘Review’ Category
Sarah Waters – Affinity
In a world where twenty-seven year old women are called “spinsters” and they aren’t allowed to study further, despite being inclined towards academia, where they still need their mother’s permission to carry out certain activities, and where they’re bound by society’s rules and regulations, this story is about a woman desperately trying to find her […]
Filed under: Books 2010, Guardian 1000, Historical Fiction, Review, Sarah Waters, Somerset Maughm Award | 9 Comments
Tags: Sarah Waters, Victorian Society
A Gate At The Stairs is one of “those” books – beautiful writing, intelligent conversation flowing through the book, a sensitive plot, and a book with great potential. Tassie is a college student in the Mid-western town of Troy, who finds a job as a baby sitter for Sarah, an affluent restaurant-owner who adopts Emmie, […]
Filed under: Amazon's Best Books Of The Year, Books 2010, General Fiction, Lorrie Moore, New York Times Notable Book Of The Year, Orange Prize Shortlist, Review | 9 Comments
Tags: Adoption, Lorrie Moore
In terms of books being confusing and complex, this one ranks right up there. New characters being introduced every couple of pages, the story taking dramatic turns, changing from showing corruption while trading in the 18th-19th century to a surreal adventure story, and there’s a love story thrown in, just for good measure as well. […]
Filed under: Books 2010, David Mitchell, Historical Fiction, Review | 12 Comments
Tags: David Mitchell, Japan
This is the third and final book of the Millennium trilogy, and I’m almost annoyed that there will be no more novels of Lisbeth Salander or Mikael Blomkvist on my reading list again. The final book in the trilogy opens with Lisbeth being shot several times in the head, after she attempted to kill her […]
Filed under: Books 2010, Review, Stieg Larsson, Suspense/Thriller | 17 Comments
Tags: Millennium Trilogy, Stieg Larsson, Sweden
Monica Dickens – Mariana
I bought this book back in January, simply because the blurb likened it to I Capture The Castle, and ended up “saving” it for the Persephone Reading Week (hosted by Verity and Claire). I had great expectations from this book (if you may excuse the totally unnecessary pun), not only because of the blurb comparing […]
Filed under: Books 2010, Coming of Age, General Fiction, Monica Dickens, Persephone Books, Persephone Classics, Review | 33 Comments
Tags: London, Monica Dickens, Paris, World War II
Angela Carter – Shadow Dance
Angela Carter’s debut book, Shadow Dance, is the fifth book by her that I’ve read, and it’s as bizarre as the previous three. Due to a million other things, I wasn’t able to get my thoughts out on this sooner, which is a pity, as I wanted it to tie in with Claire’s Angela Carter […]
Filed under: Angela Carter, Books 2010, General Fiction, Review, Virago Modern Classics | 9 Comments
Tags: Angela Carter
Terry Pratchett – Nation
Don’t you love Terry Pratchett books? I do, despite never having read any in my teenage years, and Nation, a non-Discworld story, is no exception. Set in an alternate universe (or a parallel universe, if you like), this is the story of a young boy (Mau) whose homecoming has been ruined by a massive tidal wave, […]
Filed under: ALA Best Books For Young Adults, Books 2010, Review, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Terry Pratchett, Young Adult | 14 Comments
Tags: Terry Pratchett