When I started reading this gentle, slow-moving novel, I couldn’t understand how it could have won the 1984 Booker Prize. It is so … slow. And yet I’m stubborn, which can make me annoying, but it also means when I buy a book I’ll force myself to keep reading, even when I want to ditch […]
“Hotel du Lac” by Anita Brookner – a short book review Read More »
A short story I wrote was just longlisted for the Best Australian Yarn competition by The West Australian. You can read it for free here (although the site will ask you to register first). Readers then vote to decide who wins. Part of me is ashamed about this reality-TV aspect to the competition. The other
The funniest book I read last year was a short novella called Man Overbored by Paul Laverty – and he’s just released a new comic novella called Cider Country. As with Man Overbored, Cider Country is about a motley group of misfits – although instead of being on a sinking cruise ship, this time they’re working in an apple orchard for
Basic plot: Two aging gangsters wait – and wait – and then wait some more while menacing strangers – at a Spanish port in the hope of finding a runaway daughter who they adore. While waiting, they reminisce on their many adventures and mistakes Mini review: Night Boat to Tangier has been widely acclaimed, become a bestseller, and
“Night Boat to Tangier” by Kevin Barry – book review Read More »
It took me a long, long time to get into this novel, which defies easy categorisation (Is it a comedy? Is it a suspense thriller? Is it simply taking the piss?) – but when I did, I loved it. For me the hurdle was the delusional and pompous narrator, Tarquin Winot, who seems like a cross
“The Debt to Pleasure” by Robert Lanchester – book review Read More »
