The moors of Northumberland remain wild. Despite the encroachment of pylons and roads, the bogs still hold secrets of the past and dangers in the present. Sarah Moss evokes the stark beauty of the moors in her sixth novel, Ghost Wall. In fewer than 150 pages, she weaves a tale of prejudices, cruelty, rage, mob Read More
In her second novel, Sally Rooney delivers a compelling love story set in the West of Ireland and grounded in the political realities of recent times. Normal People was hotly anticipated, well received, and continues to see Rooney lauded as a generational writer. Nevertheless, the passivity with which the millennial label is applied within critical Read More
Modern feminist revisions of Greek mythology are in vogue. Following Madeleine Miller’s feminist reworking of Homer’s Iliad (The Song of Achilles, 2012) and The Odyssey (Circe, 2018), Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls also retells the story of The Iliad from a female perspective. Where Patroclus, Achilles’ steadfast companion, narrates Miller’s Trojan tale of Read More
Twitters for a Lark is not a single-author collection nor is it, strictly speaking, an anthology. What is hidden behind the colourful book cover emblazed with the words ‘Poetry of the European Union of Imaginary Authors’ is a unique endeavour bringing together some of Britain’s most innovative and exciting contemporary poetic voices. The book contains collaborative Read More
‘Tell all the truth but tell it slant’ If Emily Dickinson’s much-quoted line is a poets’ mantra, not for the first time reviewing, I have to ask – surely its application is wider? When Picasso unleashed Guernica‘s terrible pain and fury, how could he tell that trauma, other than slant? A creative act, burning the Read More
Melissa Broder is an accomplished poet, essayist and columnist. The Pisces is her first novel and it ventures between the realms of history, myth and the personal traumas that her protagonist faces: men, relationships and sexual encounters. The protagonist, Lucy, is a PhD student in Arizona studying the work of the Ancient Greek poet, Sappho. Read More
We meet in a restaurant situated at the water’s edge of the Cromarty Firth, just outside the Ross-shire town of Evanton where Cynthia Rogerson lives. It is early in the day because she will be on ‘grandkid duty’ later. She is the prize-winning author of five novels and a collection of short stories and it Read More
With its stylish cover and alluring title, Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut novel is as striking as it looks. My Sister, the Serial Killer tells you everything you need to know before the opening pages. But that’s not to say it’s predictable and doesn’t surprise at times. The novel centres around two sisters, Korede, a nurse, and Read More
Originally published in the US in 2015, Above the Waterfall is the sixth of seven novels by award-winning American novelist, poet and short-story writer, Ron Rash. Born in South Carolina, where he now lives, Rash grew up in North Carolina. He teaches fiction writing at Western Carolina University where he holds the John Parris Chair Read More
