First published 1973. Picador, paperback, 2022, translated by Howard Curtis, 2021, pp 165 (+13pp afterword by André Aciman), c.55,000 words (main text). Set largely in Rome, this book is, as much as anything, a love letter to that city in all seasons. It conveys the feeling of a place full of life and yet in […]
Last Summer in the City — Gianfranco Calligarich Read More »
First published 2000. Faber, paperback, 2000, pp 368, c.120,000 words. This is Ishiguro’s fifth novel, appearing eighteen years after his first. That slow pace is reflected in the quality of the writing and is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Each sentence is beautifully polished, but somehow the overall result is rather dry. This is
When We Were Orphans — Kazuo Ishiguro Read More »
First published 1977. Fontana, paperback, 1988, pp 338, c.110,000 words. Unusually for Innes this book has no sea voyages, with only one very brief scene involving a raft on a lake. It is a book set in the heart of East Africa – big game country. While the main characters are white, the winds of
Big Footprints, The — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 1974. Penguin, paperback, 1976, pp 288, c.110,000 words. Condon was a hugely successful writer, and quite a few films have been made from his books, notably at least two versions of The Manchurian Candidate. His books are unashamedly pieces of Americana. This book is a riff on the Kennedy assassination, and it throws
Winter Kills — Richard Condon Read More »
First published 2010. Corsair, paperback, 2011, pp 336, c.80,000 words. Nice title, but what does it mean? I had visions of someone powerful who had become upset and has sent his goons round to teach the miscreant a lesson. Wrong. Some way into this book it is explained that ‘time is a goon’ [p127]. Then
Visit from the Goon Squad, A — Jennifer Egan Read More »
First published 2005. Penguin, paperback, 2006, pp 326, c.85,000 words. This book was an immediate success when it was first published, being shortlisted for the Orange Prize, winning the Bollinger Everyman prize for comic fiction, and appearing on many other prize short- and long- lists. It garnered many positive newspaper reviews and has sold over
Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian — Marina Lewycka Read More »
First published 1957. Penguin, paperback, 1963, pp 217, c.65,000 words. Stewart was a prolific novelist, writing over eighty books, as well as being a fellow of English at Oxford University. He is perhaps best known for his detective Appelby, who featured in many books written under the pen name of Michael Innes. The protagonist of
Use of Riches, A — J I M Stewart Read More »
First published 1954. Penguin, paperback, 1959, pp 236, c.90,000 words. C. P. Snow is not in fashion these days, and is currently out of print. I developed a fascination with his work in the early 1980s, reading all his fiction. I picked this off my shelves recently to see how it stood up to the
New Men, The — C P Snow Read More »
First published 2006. Bloomsbury, paperback, 2012, pp325, c.115,000 words. I remember enjoying this when I first read it some ten years ago. Boyd is a writer who I greatly admire and has ranged widely across the genres of contemporary fiction. This is his spy thriller, the spy element mainly taking place between 1939 and 1941
Restless — William Boyd Read More »
