the interviews she conducted as a young journalist during the sixties. Reading the book you get the definite sensation that you’re experiencing a unique insight into rock stars like Hendrix, Cher, Mama Cass, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Pete Townsend and Mick Jagger.
Category: Literary Fiction Reviews
Interview with Joanne Harris
The author of Peaches for Father Francis talks about her new book, about revisiting Lansquenet, about the nature of serials, about food writing, about magical realism and how it works in her books, about her character Vianne Rocher, about what…
Interview with Margaret Wertheim
The author of Physics on the Fringe talks about how her years of collecting the work of ‘outsider physics’ turned into a book, about the notion of some aspects of modern physics being more akin to art than science, about…
Interview with Danny Iny
The author of Engagement from Scratch talks about his company Firepole Marketing, about the power of blogging, about why creative people need to market, author promotion, his book and why he’s giving it away, on philanthropy, mantaining the balance between…
A review of Curiosity Killed the Sphinx, and Other Stories by Katherine L. Holmes
Holmes likes to use language vividly and originally. Cars “crept to the curb on tire tiptoe”; a woman walks in a “toothache of time”. Holmes also uses patterns of imagery to convey her themes. In one of my favourite stories, “Nuts and Bolts”, a childfree couple choose not to spend a holiday with friends – the “same old bunch” with a third baby among them, but to stay in the city together.
A review of The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood
The Bellwether Revivals has been compared to Brideshead Revisited, because of the brother-sister relationship and the social class element. The ending, however, is reminiscent of that of Sons and Lovers, that great coming-of-age working class novel by D.H.Lawrence, following in Thomas Hardy’s tradition.
A review of The Hum of Concrete by Anna Solding
There is an intense intimacy in Solding’s writing style. The words come as a confession: a kind of whispered tale that draws the reader in and invites collusion. The characters progress naturally through time, beginning with key moments of youth and awakening perception, and moving through coupling, and later parenthood.
A review Of Midnight Sun, Arctic Moon by Mary Albanese
Albanese’s story is that of triumph over what could easily be impossible odds. She proved herself professionally, earning respect from her male peers in a very competitive field, and tested her limits every step of the way. It would be easy to imagine Albanese saying to herself, “I’ve done this; I wonder what else I can do?”
A review of The Mistake by Wendy James
Though the novel reads easily and won’t be easily left until the full truth of Jodie’s story is revealed, this is no comfortable beach read. There’s a depth to the theme and a richness in the characterisation that will stay with the reader. The power of friendship too, to winkle out truth and deeper meaning in life, is one that provides some redemption to Jodie’s story, though the powerful ending still comes as a shock.
A review of The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The story resonates with a range of themes: loss, brutality, taboo love, but the most important is that of memory and the vexing bipolarity of remembering that you wish to forget, and forgetting that you wish to remember.