(translated from Italian by Katherine Gregor) About the Book: A story of three generations of women, their courage and search for independence in the face of superstition and prejudice, in the spirit of Natalia Ginzburg and Elena Ferrante. In this striking debut, based on a true story, Valeria Usala bears witness to an age-old story … Continue reading Book Review: A Woman in Sardinia by Valeria Usala
Books from Abroad
Book Review: Long Island by Colm Tóibín
About the Book: A novel of enormous wit and profound emotional resonance from one of the world's finest writers. Eilis Lacey is Irish, married to Tony Fiorello, a plumber and one of four Italian American brothers, all of whom live in neighbouring houses on a cul-de-sac in Lindenhurst, Long Island, with their wives and children … Continue reading Book Review: Long Island by Colm Tóibín
Book Review: The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins
About the Book: Henry dreams of silence. A world without the clattering of carriages through cobbled streets, the distant cries of drunken brawls, the relentless ticking of the clock. Then he meets a fascinating, mysterious gentleman who sells just that. Precious silk that can drown out the clamour of the world – and everything Henry … Continue reading Book Review: The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins
Book Review: Shakespeare – The Man Who Pays the Rent by Dame Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea
About the Book: Britain's greatest Shakespearean actor reveals her secrets in a series of intimate conversations. Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig; cavorting naked through the countryside painted green; acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head... these are just a few things Dame Judi Dench has done … Continue reading Book Review: Shakespeare – The Man Who Pays the Rent by Dame Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea
Book Review: When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman
About the Book: Spanning four decades, from 1968 onwards, this is the story of a fabulous but flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape their everyday lives. It is a story about childhood and growing up, loss of innocence, eccentricity, familial ties and friendships, love and life. Stripped down to … Continue reading Book Review: When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman
Book Review: Juja by Nino Haratischvili (trans. Ruth Martin)
About the Book: Published for the first time in English, the sweeping debut novel set in bohemian Paris, by the author of international bestseller The Eighth Life. In 1953, a teenage girl, Jeanne Saré, jumps in front of a train at the Gare du Nord station. She leaves behind writings that to some are unreadable, but … Continue reading Book Review: Juja by Nino Haratischvili (trans. Ruth Martin)
Book Review: Lioness by Emily Perkins #AYearofNZLit
About the Book: From humble beginnings, Therese has let herself grow used to a life of luxury after marrying into an empire-building family. But when rumours of corruption gather around her husband's latest development, the social opprobrium is shocking, the fallout swift, and Therese begins to look at her privileged and insular world with new … Continue reading Book Review: Lioness by Emily Perkins #AYearofNZLit
Book Review: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
About the Book: The Booker Prize 2023 Winner The explosive literary sensation: a mother faces a terrible choice as Ireland slides into totalitarianism. On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB on her step. Two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police are … Continue reading Book Review: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
Book Review: Bird Life by Anna Smaill
About the Book: The second novel by Booker Prize longlisted author Anna Smaill. A lyrical and ambitious exploration of madness and what it is like to experience the world differently. In Ueno Park, Tokyo, as workers and tourists gather for lunch, the pollen blows, a fountain erupts, pigeons scatter, and two women meet, changing the … Continue reading Book Review: Bird Life by Anna Smaill
Book Review: This Year’s for Me and You by Emily Bell
About the Book: Twelve resolutions. Once chance to fall in love. Hannah and Celeste have been best friends since they were eighteen, when they made a pact to spend every New Year's Eve together. From Dublin to London, the two are inseparable: that is, until tragedy strikes. When Celeste discovers a list of Hannah's New … Continue reading Book Review: This Year’s for Me and You by Emily Bell
Theresa Smith Writes 