Category Archives: Fiction

Fiction

Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Graham

Jeet Thayil’s Narcopolis made it onto the shortlist for the Booker Prize. Set in the drug dens of Bombay through the 1970s and 1980s it is a compelling and disturbing novel. Narcopolis follows the underclass of addicts through the years … Continue reading →

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NW by Zadie Smith

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Graham

Zadie Smith’s latest book, NW, which has recently been shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, or ex-Orange Prize, is both fascinating, and complex. NW, standing for the postcode of North-West London is a mix of semi-overlapping stories told in … Continue reading →

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Bad News by Edward St Aubyn

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Graham

Bad News is the second novel in Edward St Aubyn’s Patrick Melrose series of books, following on from Never Mind. In Bad News, Patrick is no longer a child, but a drug-addled man in his twenties. While the monstrous David … Continue reading →

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Boxer Beetle by Ned Beauman

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Graham

Having read Ned Beauman’s excellent novel The Teleportation Accident I had to go back and read his first book, Boxer Beetle. Falling somewhere in between historical fiction and sci-fi, the novel has one of the most bizarre cast-lists imaginable. There … Continue reading →

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Swimming Home by Deborah Levy

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Graham

A lot of the attention around the 2012 Booker Prize was focussed on Deborah Levy’s Swimming Home, in part because it was published by the independent, subscription based publisher, And Other Stories. However, it is likely that this novel would … Continue reading →

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The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Graham

Tan Twan Eng’s first novel, The Gift of Rain, was longlisted for the Booker Prize back in 2007. With his second book, The Garden of Evening Mists, he has gone one better and made the shortlist. Again set in his … Continue reading →

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Caribou Island by David Vann

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Graham

Ever since reading the shocking and stunning Legend of a Suicide I have been wanting to read David Vann’s recent book, Caribou Island. While his first book was a semi-autobiographical collection of stories/novel about the suicide of his father, Caribou … Continue reading →

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The Lighthouse by Alison Moore

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Graham

Alison Moore’s short, but ominous novel, The Lighthouse, made it on to the shortlist for the 2012 Booker Prize. It follows the unlikely-named Futh, a recently separated man in his forties on a walking holiday to Germany. While he walks … Continue reading →

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Indignation by Philip Roth

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Graham

Philip Roth’s novel Indignation is another of his involving a Jewish man growing up in New Jersey in the 1950s. It is the usual frequently recurring theme in his writings. It is narrated by Marcus Messner, a serious and studious … Continue reading →

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If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Graham

Jon McGregor’s first novel, from 2002, is a study in the minute details of one horrific day in suburban Britain. It is apparent from the very first chapter that on a day in late Summer nearly all of the residents … Continue reading →

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