The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is narrated by Death. I suspect it’s pretty much the first thing anyone will tell you about the novel. It’s a well-crafted story about a young girl who lives with foster carers in Munich during the Second World War, but it could have so easily done without Death narrating… Continue reading Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
Author: Dominic Stevenson
M.R. Carey – Someone Like Me
M R Carey is someone that regulars to these pages will be familiar with. He’s the bestselling author of The Girl With All the Gifts, The Boy on the Bridge, and Fellside, to name just a few. His latest literary offering is Someone Like Me, and it surprised me. It wasn’t based in the UK… Continue reading M.R. Carey – Someone Like Me
Mark Mason – Walk The Lines/The Importance of Being Trivial
It was my birthday recently and as usual I was on the receiving end of some excellent books. Unusually however, I received two by the same author. Mark Mason is all around legend who combines three of my favourite activities – books, walking, and general knowledge that no one ever really needs but loves regardless.… Continue reading Mark Mason – Walk The Lines/The Importance of Being Trivial
Alice Furse – Everyone Knows This is Nowhere
In her debut novel, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Alice Furse stunningly, and with a grace that many more mature authors will never muster, depicts the slow descent of her protagonist into the kind of sadness that we all fear – the inevitable acceptance that this is it. Furse is Orwellian in her depiction of… Continue reading Alice Furse – Everyone Knows This is Nowhere
John Lanchester – Capital
(Written a bit back...) Christmas has been and gone. The seemingly never ending hours in the car, the aching arms from lugging presents to relative’s houses, and the cramps from the endless mountain of Brazil nuts and the red foiled chocolates that no one wants, are gone. All that hassle for a day that was… Continue reading John Lanchester – Capital
Andy Weir – Artemis
Artemis is the second novel from sci-fi writer, Andy Weir. Weir’s first novel, The Martian, was the international bestseller that started out as a self-published book distributed by his own website. The Martian was subsequently made into a film starring Matt Damon, making a follow up that could achieve the same level of success seem… Continue reading Andy Weir – Artemis
Ernest Hemingway – A Moveable Feast
A Moveable Feast is part, the autobiographical recounting of Ernest Hemingway’s time in Paris, most notably with his first wife Hadley, and part, the dying man’s love letter to a time that he was desperate to return to. In Hemingway’s indomitable way he created with A Moveable Feast a selection of stories that seems so… Continue reading Ernest Hemingway – A Moveable Feast
Helen Barbour – The A to Z of Normal
The A to Z of Normal is the debut novel from Helen Barbour, and it follows Clare Thorpe as she battles to ensure that her blossoming new relationship can flourish and allow her to have the life and security that she’s always dreamed of. Clare is a very modern woman, successful, focussed, engaged with the… Continue reading Helen Barbour – The A to Z of Normal
Andrew Kaufman – All My Friends Are Superheroes
All My Friends Are Superheroes, by Andrew Kaufman, is an unexpectedly gorgeous romance that cracks your heart, millimetre by millimetre with each page, wide open. The story revolves around a man called Tom, and Tom is not a superhero. However everyone in his life, including his wife, is. At their wedding his wife, the Perfectionist,… Continue reading Andrew Kaufman – All My Friends Are Superheroes
Trying to amplify the author’s voice
As you know, I have started a podcast called Authors Unedited. I have done so because the last year or so has been quite a journey through the world of literature for me, and it’s made me want to do more to help others. For a bit of context, my partner, Claire Askew, has gone from… Continue reading Trying to amplify the author’s voice
