Antonius: Son of Rome by Brook Allen Father was dead. The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson It must have been late in the afternoon one day at the end of August when Moomintroll and his mother arrived at the deepest part of the great forest. The Long Take by Robin Robertson And … Continue reading My Reading – June 2020
Book reviews
In my beginning is my end? – Opening and closing lines
A little while ago I saw a quote from the American novelist Gloria Naylor - 'One should be able to return to the first sentence of a novel and find the resonances of the entire work.' Other than in consciously literary works, I wondered how often this happened so I took a few favourite books … Continue reading In my beginning is my end? – Opening and closing lines
My Reading – April 2020
The Gatekeeper by Charles ToddIan Rutledge drove through the night, his mind only partly on the road unwinding before him. A Divided Loyalty by Charles ToddIan Rutledge was walking down the stairs at Scotland Yard when he met Chief Inspector Leslie coming up them two at a time. Loxley: The Chronicles of Robin Hood by … Continue reading My Reading – April 2020
My Reading – March 2020
The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernanThe waiting room was ugly and neglected. A Slanting of the Sun by Donal RyanShe cries sometimes, without noise. Ten Doors Down: the story of an extraordinary adoption reunion by Robert TicknerI have a date with destiny this Sydney summer day in late January 1993. The Black Ascot by Charles … Continue reading My Reading – March 2020
Book Review – A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan
A Slanting of the Sun is Donal Ryan's first collection of short stories. It is written in the same beautifully crafted poetic and uniquely Irish prose as his novels. All but one of the twenty stories are told in the first person, each with a distinctive voice. The characters cover a range of ages, sex … Continue reading Book Review – A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan
My Reading – February 2020
The First Blast of the Trumpet by Marie Macpherson 'There's no rhyme nor reason to it. Your destiny is already laid doon.' The Blood Miracles by Lisa McInerney This, like so many of Ryan Cusack's fuck-ups, begins with ecstasy. All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan Martin Toppy is the son of a famous Traveller … Continue reading My Reading – February 2020
My Reading – January 2020
There was Still Love by Favel ParrettThere are suitcases everywhere. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo IshiguroNiki, the name we finally gave my younger daughter, is not an abbreviation; it was a compromise I reached with her father. Springtime : A Ghost Story by Michelle de KretserThat spring, Frances walked along the river every … Continue reading My Reading – January 2020
A Year of Reading – 2019
With each successive year I seem to be slipping further and further from my goal of reading a book a week. That goal was almost in sight when I read fifty books in 2017 but the following year I dropped back to forty books and this year is even worse with only thirty-seven books read. … Continue reading A Year of Reading – 2019
My Reading – December 2019
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson In was an early, very warm morning in July, and it had rained during the night. Khaki Town by Judy Nunn There was a tap at the north-east door. The True Colour of the Sea by Robert Drewe Don dropped dead on the sand and that was that.
Book Review – Crimen Exceptum: The English Witch Prosecution in Context by Gregory J Durston
Despite years of cool-headed scholarship over several decades, the idea still persists in the popular imagination that during the period known as the 'witch craze' millions of women were rounded up and burned at the stake often for nothing more than their skill with herbal remedies. While thousands of women, and men, believed to be … Continue reading Book Review – Crimen Exceptum: The English Witch Prosecution in Context by Gregory J Durston
