SHADOW ON THE LENS | BOOK REVIEW
A Shadow on the Lens Sam Hurcom (Orion) This book would be epic if I didn’t know any of the locations, but as a Cardiffian my familiarity with the places …
A Shadow on the Lens Sam Hurcom (Orion) This book would be epic if I didn’t know any of the locations, but as a Cardiffian my familiarity with the places …
Then She Vanishes Claire Douglas (Penguin) One quiet March morning, the peaceful seaside town of Tilby near Bristol is ripped apart by the double murder of a seemingly harmless man …
Little Zinnobers Elena Chizhova, trans. Carol Ermakova (Glagoslav) In Little Zinnobers, Elena Chizhova has written a touching, acutely funny study of a Khruschev-era schoolroom, and a delicate psychological portrait of …
THE DESERT AND THE DRUM Mbarek Ould Beyrouk, trans. Rachael McGill (Dedalus) This here is apparently the first novel from a Mauritanian author to be translated into English. Mbarek Ould …
TELL THEM OF BATTLES, KINGS AND ELEPHANTS Mathias Énard (Fitzcarraldo Editions) Thoughtful and melancholy, this slim work from French novelist Mathias Énard may appear as a departure from the complexity …
DARK SACRED NIGHT Michael Connelly (Orion) There are only two problems with reading a new Michael Connelly novel. One: you don’t want it to end, and two: once it is …
THE KINGS OF ENGLAND | BOOK REVIEW Graeme Oxby (Bluecoat) Fandom can take many forms, but the ardour of Elvis aficionados is extreme. What is it about the King …
THINGS THAT MAKE THE HEART BEAT FASTER João Morais (Parthian) The best stories often come from encounters with strangers, usually when drunk in a pub, overhearing conversations you probably shouldn’t …
HARD TIMES Ostap Vyshnya, trans. Yuri Tkach (Glagoslav) Ostap Vyshnia’s Hard Times, a collection of short stories and satire from 1920s Ukraine, took me by surprise upon reading. Hugely popular …
Girls Be Good Bojan Babić, trans. Nataša Miljković (Glagoslav) Grim reading ahead. These 20 connected stories all detail the journey of 20 toy lemurs, built in a factory in Yugoslavia …
CROCODILE Daniel Shand (Sandstone Press) We meet Chloe, who is sent to live with her grandparents while her mother tries to get her life together. Through flashbacks, we learn of …
THAT SUMMER FEELING Mark Hodkinson (Pomona) That Summer Feeling can quite accurately be labelled as a book of struggle. From girl trouble to family misfortune to a slightly absurd university lecturer, …