Carole's Reviews on Easymix

Carole reviews a book on Radio EasyMix every Wednesday at 7.15 am (98.2 FM) - please note change of time!

Wednesday 15 February - The Soldier's Wife by Joanna Trollope. From an expereinced author whose writing just flows. Dan, a professional soldier, comes home to England from a long stint in Afganistan. Trollope explores the adjustments & nuances of human relationships with great skill. Extremely likeable & very human characters, especially delightful, stong young daughter Isabel.

Wednesday 8 February - The Sea on Our Skin, a delightful debut novel from Madeleine Tobert. Set in a tiny Pacific Island community, this uses oral story-telling traditions to tell a charming story of the family life & inter-relationships of this vivdly depicted village. With lovely characters & lyrical writing, this is utterly engaging.

Wednesday 1 Febuary - The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott. Set in the Canadian vaudeville theatres from 1912 - WW1, this is the captivating tale of 3 young sisters, Aurora, Clover & Bella, aged 13 to 16 when they begin, who carve out a living with their song & dance routines. Full of fascinating, eccentric characters & totally delightful acts, this is a marvellous piece of theatrical history & an absolutely delightful read.

Wednesday 25 January - Ragnarok by A S Byatt. This Booker Prize-winning author has rewritten the ancient Norse myth of the end of the Gods. Full of colour & movement, this explores the devastation of our present environment through the eyes of a 'thin child' reading Norse myths in wartime Britain.

Wednesday 18 January 2012 - The Beautiful Indifference - 7 intense stories from the brilliant, award-winning novelist Sarah Hall. Set mainly in Cumbria, they feature strong women, vivid landscapes, violence & eroticism. She has a remarkable facility with language.

Wednesday 14 December - Why Be happy When You Could be Normal? a painful, moving, funny autobiography from Jeanette Winterson. This is the true story of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - adopted by a strict Pentecostal mother, Jeanette was expected to grow up & become a missionary- instead she fell in love with a woman. Brilliant writing, & ultimately forgiving.

Wednesday 7 December - Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet.  This is a 'Young Adult' novel that is brillant for all ages. About young love & the Cold War in the 50s, it is superbly written & full of extraordinary surprises. Totally absorbing & really quite amazing.

Wednesday 30 November - The Submission by Amy Waldman. A brilliant novel about 9/11 & all the conflicting attitudes & values associated with it. A panel select anonymous submissions for a memorial to be built for the victims - they then discover the designer is a Muslim! Media, public & political chaos results. Absolutely fascinating.

Wednesday 23 November - The Dovekeepers, a magnificent epic from Alice Hoffman about the seige of Masada in 70AD, when 900 Jewish people held out against a vast army of Roman soldiers. Told through the stories of 4 different women, this is a harrowing but uplifting & amazing novel. Toni Morrison has described it as 'a major contribution to 21st century literature.' It's a big read - I loved it.

Wednesday 16 November - The Sense of an Ending. Julian Barnes' 2011 Man Booker Prize winner is brief, dense, beautifully written & rather enigmatic. Reflecting back, after 40 years, on his school friends & first grilfriend, just what is it that Tony failed to understand?
 

Wednesday 9 November - A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead. This is a brilliant tribute to the 230 women from the French Resistance who were sent to Auschwitz together on the same train. 49 of them survived through the strength of their freindship & support of each other. Harrowing but utterly inspiring.
 

Wednesday 2 November - The Broken Book by Fiona Farrell one of NZ's finest & most modest writers. She was working on a book of essays about walking when the Christchurch earthquke tore across her text. The result is a lyrical, beautiful sequence of philosophical musings, sometimes autobiographical, always sensitive and wise, that are interrupted with after-shock regularity by exquisite 'shaken' poems. The book is a rare and special treasure - I hugged it to my heart.
 

Wednesday 25 October - Ruby Redfort: Look Into My Eyes, a thrilling spy novel for 10-14-60 year olds, by Lauren Child who created Claris Bean and Charlie & Lola. I am a Ruby Redfort fan! She is a brainy, adventurous, resourceful girl who is so good at code-cracking she gets a special assignment with a real adult spy agency. Gripping, totally improbable, highly entertaining. Ruby is a great role-model for young women.
 

Wednesday 19 October - The Night Circus, a magical, enchanting novel by Erin Morgenstern. I don't normally read fantasy but this was a total delight, about a black & white circus that appears suddenly overnight & entices people in with its magical performances. A brilliant work of the imagination.
 

Wednesday 12 October - Women's Stuff, a delightful, weighty, comprehensive volume covering all aspects of women's lives & health, by the irrepressible Kaz Cooke. Informative & highly entertaining.
Wednesday 5 October - Breast Support, a brave & brilliant book from psychologist & breast cancer survivor Gwendoline Smith. Written for women with breast cancer as well as their families & friends, it manages to be very informative as well as lively & funny. It combines personal story with expert advice from specialists - invaluable!
Wednesday 28 September - Lucky Bunny, Jill Dawson's wonderful 'crime' novel set in the criminal underworld of London in the 1940s & 50s. Queenie Dove grows up in a criminal family & becomes an accomplished shop-lifter & petty thief. She spends some very unpleasant time in Holloway but is released to go on to greater heights - involvement in the Great Train Robbery! She's a sassy, delightful character & this novel is great fun.
Wednesday 21 September - The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman. Lenka & Joseph, in love & married in Prague in 1939, meet again in USA when they are in their 80s, both having believed the other died in the war. Lenka's story, in Terezin & Auschwitz, is gruelling but this is a moving & heartwarming story.
Wednesday 14 September - The Language of Flowers a delightful debut novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Victoria is a 'wayward' young woman who has spent her childhood in foster homes. Through flowers & their symbolic meanings she learns to communicate with people & gain self-confidence. Unsentimental but very moving. A lovely novel!
Wednesday 7 September - All That I Am, a gripping first novel by Anna Funder, author of the award-winning Stasiland. Set in Berlin, London & NY in 1933-35, it is based on real left-wing writers & political activiists who saw what what was happening with Hitler & had to get out. Its about genuine bravery, betrayal, & failing to 'see' what it is you are actually seeing. Extremely well-written & utterly absorbing.
Wednesday 31 August - The Song of Achilles, a brilliant first novel by classics scholar Madeline Miller. It's the tender gay love story of Achilles & Patroclus set amid the violence & slaughter of the Trojan War. Full of Gods & Kings, Heroes & mere mortals, it is vivid, grippping & you care deeply about the characters. Fantastic!
Wednesday 24 August - Once Upon a River, the lively adventures of gun-toting crack-shot Margot Crane, aged 16 & on the run along a Michigan river, after taking revenge on an abusive relative. Written by Bonnie Jo Campbell, its about freedom, living in the wild, & it features a gutsy, courageous & endearing heroine. Great!
Wednesday 17 August - The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen. Stunning, gripping crime fiction, with strong characters (Detective Jane Riozzoli & Dr. Maura Isles feature again) & a brilliant plot. Gerritsen draws on her Chinese heritage - fascinating insights into the Monkey King, antique Chinese swords, & traditional Chinese tales.
Wednesday 10 August - The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. It is 1968 & Lynnie, a disabled white woman, & Homan, a deaf black man, have escaped from an institution. This is a heartbreaking & uplifting novel about incarceration, freedom & caring about society's vulnerable.
Wednesday 3 August - The Hare with Amber Eyes, Edmund De Waal's brilliant account of the history of his family, from Odessa to Paris, Vienna, Tokyo & London, told by tracing the story of the netsuke collection he inherits. Winner of the Costa (UK) Award for Biography, it is utterly fascinating.
Wednesday 27 July - The Trouble with Fire, the new short story collection from Fiona Kidman. Beautifully written, many of them capture important historical moments in the lives of NZ women. Particularly memorable is the SOS story about NZ women being flown to Australia for abortions. Fire, real & figurative, is a theme in this lovely book.
Wednesday 20 July - There But For The, Ali Smith's stunning, sensationally fabulous new novel about a man who locks himself in a bedroom during a dinner party - & stays there! Clever & funny & moving - a profound comment on the human condition. While being intellectually challenged you fall about laughing at 'knock, knock' jokes!!
Wednesday 13 July - The Larnachs. Owen Marshall beautifully fictionalizes the true story of William Larnach, NZ statesman, politician & builder of famous Larnach 'castle' near Dunedin. His portrayal of the passionate love affair between Larnach's wife Conny & his son Dougie (her stepson) is moving & totally convincing.
Wednesday 6 July - State of Wonder, the latest novel from fabulous Bel Canto author Ann Patchett. Set in the depths of the Amazon & full of extraordinary characters, this is brilliant & absolutely mesmerising!
Wednesday 29 June - The Tiger's Wife, a debut novel by Tea Obreht that has just won the Orange Prize. While I enjoyed it, & found the fables within the story fascinating, I am surprised it beat Emma Donoghue's Room for the Orange Prize.
Wednesday 22 June - The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress, the final novel from wonderful Beryl Bainbridge, who was short-listed for the Booker Prize 5 times! Rose visits the USA from London in 1968, in search of a mysterious man called Wheeler. An intriguing 'road trip' novel full of black humour & dark undertones.
Wednesday 15 June - Isa & May by Margaret Forster. This intriguing novel explores the role & significance of grandmothers. Isamay, in her late 20s, visits her 2 very different grandmothers Isa & May regularly & is also writing a thesis on the importance of grandmothers. Lovely writing but as a new grandmother, I would have liked even more from the thesis.
Wednesday 8 June - The Forgotten Waltz by Booker Prize winner Anne Enright. An examination of an adulterous love affair, warts 'n all! Enright's writing is marvellous. As usual she is hard-hitting & realistic, with brilliant understanding of the complexities & subtleties of human relationships.
Wednesday 1 June - Caleb's Crossing, the brilliant new novel from Geraldine Brooks. Set on Martha's vineyard, it is a fascinating exploration of early contact between the Native American inhabitants & the Puritan settlers. Caleb is the first Native American to graduate from Harvard University. Detailed research brings the whole period to life & the characters, especially fiesty Bethia, are beautifully realised. Fantastic!
Wednesday 25 May - The Conductor, a brilliant new novel from NZer Sarah Quigley who lives in Berlin. Featuring Shostakovich & his 7th symphony (there is a CD in the back of the book), it is set in Leningrad during the siege. Deeply moving, & totally engrossing, this is a marvellous novel.
Wednesday 18 May - No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf by Carolyn Burke, a guest at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival. This is a rich, detailed account of the personal & the musical life of this tiny woman with a huge voice. Brilliantly researched & told with compassion & respect, this is a fascinating read.
Wednesday 11 May - a fast & furious overview of some of the outstanding non-fiction authors appearing at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival: sharp-tongued travel writer & restaurant crtic A A Gill, Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf, Barbara Strauch on the amazing brain, courageous humanitarian Izzeldin Abuelaish, Atka Reid & Hana Schofield on the seige of Sarajevo, & the world's most famous Indian chef Madhur Jaffrey.
Wednesday 4 May - a fast & furious overview of some of the best novelists appearing at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival: NZers Charlotte Randall, Laurence Fearnley, Emma Neale & Sue Orr; International guests David Mitchell, Tea Obrecht, David Vann, Meg Rosoff,& Gail Jones. A stunning line-up of literary talent!
Wednesday 27 April - A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan, WINNER of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This extraordinary, bizarre, marvellous novel is hard to describe. It leaps about in time & between a range of eccentric characters who often behave badly. Set in New York, it is bitingly satirical, very edgy & utterly fascinating!
Wednesday 20 April - The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. Paris in the heady 1920s is vividly evoked in this intriguing novel about Ernest Hemmingway & his first wife Hadley. Full of historical detail, drama such as the running of the bulls in Pamplona, heartbreaking romance, & a cast of extraordinary characters - Gertrude & Alice, Ezra Pound, Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald - this makes fascinating reading.
Wednesday 13 April - The Book of Rachael by Leslie Cannold. This is a brilliant imagining of the fiercely intelligent younger sister of Joshua of Nazareth. Defying the limitations of her gender, Rachel becomes educated & forms a relationship with Judah of Iscariot. Absolutely fascinating & un-put-downable.
Wednesday 6 April - When God Was a Rabbit, a debut novel by English writer Sarah Winman. Full of dark & quirky humour, this is a mesmerising portrait of childhood & the bonds between a brother & a sister. From 1968 England to 9/11 New York, it has eccentric characters, & Elly's voice is unique, funny, understated. Brilliant!
Wednesday 30 March - The Open Accounts of An Honesty Box by Julie Helean. This is a lively lesbian novel featuring Jinx, an Auckland builder who takes off in her van & ends up helping a bunch of women build a public toilet in a small Central Otago town. Full of delightful characters and much humour - thoroughly satisfying & enjoyable.
Wednesday 23 March - Hokitika Town, another brilliant NZ novel, this time from Charlotte Randall. Young Halfie, with his imperfect English & his plucky view of the world, is a 'coin boy' in Hokitika in 1865, at the height of the gold rush. He sees a lot of life - from low down - & his perceptions about the adults around him are very astute - and funny!
Wednesday 16 March - Fosterling by Emma Neale from Dunedin. A marvellous, moving novel about a 7ft tall young man, covered in a pelt of fine hair, who is found unconscious in remote south westland bush. How does society cope with difference?
You grow to care deeply about this young man. Exquisitely beautiful writing.
Wednesday 9 March - Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx. This is a fascinating memoir about family, land & home. Proulx builds a stunning house in keeping with nature & her work, on 640 acres of Wyoming wetland & prairie. She is often discontented & crotchety but it makes for intriguing reading! Lovely stuff about the landscape & the birdlife.
Wednesday 2 March - The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. Elizabeth Tova Bailey observes in intimate detail, from her sickbed, the daily life of a snail living on a pot plant given by a friend. A gentle, enchanting book about stillness, resilience & the healing power of nature.
Wednesday 23 February - From Under the Overcoat brilliant short stories from Sue Orr who has just been awarded the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship for 2011. These vivid, absorbing stories stand alone as a modern collection but each salutes an earlier masterpiece by writers such as Mansfield, Joyce & Chekov.
Wednesday 16 February - The Lovers' Dictionary by David Levithan, the New Yorker who was a great hit at the 2010 Aucland Readers & Writers Festival with 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson'. This is the story of a relationship told in quirky, delightful dictionary entries - "autonomy, n. 'I want my books to have their own shelves,' you said, and that's how I knew it would be okay to live together."
Wednesday 9 February - Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, a delightful 'memoir of going home' by Rhoda Janzen. In her early 40s, her husband leaves her for a man, she is injured in a car accident, & she decides to return home to her conservative Mennonite community. Lovingly critical, deliciously frank & funny.
Wednesday 2 February - We Had It so Good, the brilliant new novel about the baby-boomer generation, from Linda Grant - her best novel yet I feel. The son of US immigrants who wins a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford in the 60s, Stephen believes his was the golden generation. Vivid, thoughtful & utterly engaging.
Wednesday 26 January - Dark Matter a gripping & 'spooky' novel by Michelle Paver. An Arctic expedition goes horribly wrong & one man is left alone in the icy darkness to face his demons. Psychologically fascinating.
Wednesday 19 January 2011 - The Hundred-Foot Journey, a delightful 'foodie' novel by Richard Morais. An Indian family sets up a restaurant 100 feet away from an exclusive traditional French restaurant in a small French village. Much comedy ensues, plus the recognition of the Indian teenager's talents - he goes on to a brilliant career seeking Michelin stars. Wonderful!

Wednesday 22 December - a quick round-up of some of the year's best books - Room by Emma Donoghue, Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a biography by Rebecca Skloot, Lives like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson & Her Family's Feuds a biography by Lyndall Gordon. Just a few from a stunning year!
Wednsday 15 December - Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - a fascinating young adult novel highly suitable for adults. An American girl goes to Paris & discovers parallels between the death of her young brother & the death of the Dauphin during the French Revolution. Historically intriquing, with wonderful scary scenes in the catacombs beneath Paris.
Wednesday 8 December - Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore by NZ/UK author Stella Duffy. Stella's first historical novel brings this 'sassy tart with a heart' vividly to life. Feisty characters leap off the page & you can almost smell historic Constantinople.
Wednesday 1 December - Freedom, the extraordinary new novel from Jonathan Franzen. Its not just media hype - it really is a fantastic, funny, bitingly satirical, very moving look at family life, politics, environmental issues in 21st century USA.
Wednesday 23 November - The Man in the Wooden Hat, the sophisticated, witty follow-up to Old Filth by the brilliant Jane Gardam. This the story of a lawyer's life in Hongkong from Betty's point-of-view. Oh, all those unspoken things! Delicious!!
Wednesday 17 November - Seeking the Sacred, Stephanie Dowrick's new book, full of gentle wisdom as usual. She encourages us to transform our view of ourselves & one another, & explores the possibility of an inclusive spiritual wisdom.
Wednesday 10 November - Great House, the fascinating new novel from Nicole Krauss, author of The History of Love. Several different first person confessional tales are linked up through a huge old desk with many drawers. Beautiful writing.
Wednesday 3 November - Fall Girl, an outrageous satire by Australian Toni Jordan. Della belongs to a family of con artists who happily rip off all & sundry. She is trying to pull off her biggest scam yet. But who is really conning who? Funny, raunchy, highly entertaining.
Wednesday 27 October - The Hut Builder - a gentle, beautiful, very visual novel from the talented Laurence Fearnley. Boden is a small-town South Island butcher who becomes a well-known poet. Ed Hilary & Charles Brasch make appearances. A lovely, atmospheric novel that stays with you.
Wednesday 20 October - Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa - a quirky & clever debut collection of short stories by Tina Makereti. Using elements from Maori mythology, Tina has created original, striking, often witty stories.
Wednesday 13 October - Everything We Hoped For - an excellent debut collection of bold, subtle short stories by Wellingtonian Pip Adam. Original, dark, cleverly layed, with strong characters.
Wednesday 6 September - Slip Stream, the gorgeous new poetry collection from esteeemed Auckland poet Paula Green, who has also just published the brilliant 99 Ways into NZ Poetry. A delightful & healing book, Slip Stream arises from Paula's experience of surviving breast cancer.
Wednesday 29 September - Started Early, Took My Dog, Kate Atkinson's clever, witty new novel, stand-alone but still featuring quirky character Jackson Brody. Involving death of prostitutes & stealing of babies, this is as gripping as ever!
Wednesday 22 September - Mornings in Jenin, an extraordinary novel, by Susan Abulhawa, about the history & present situation of the Palestinian people. Illuminating & very informative, it is also gut-wrenching, deeply moving, & inspiring. Passionate & powerful.
Wednesday 15 September - Villa Pasifika, a vivid new novel from NZ/Bulgarian poet Kapka Kassabova. Set in a tropical resort/animal santuary in Sth America, & full of strongly-drawn characters, this is intriguing, mysterious & gripping. Stunning cover!
Wednesday 8 September - Barbara Trapido - all of her books! Temples of Delight delighted once again; her autobiographical novel Frankie & Stankie reveals fescinating details about growing up in Sth. Africa under aparthied. Brilliant! Sadly, Barbara has not come to NZ because the earthquake cancelled the Christchurch Writers' Festival.
Wednesday 1 September - ROOM, an extraordinary novel by Emma Donoghue, long-listed for the Man Booker & probably about to be short-listed. Through ingenuity & fierce love, an imprisoned young woman creates a marvellous life for for her 5 year-old son Jack. The story is told in his funny & poignant voice - powerful & inspiring!.
Wednesday 25 August - Freeing Grace, a lively debut novel by Charity Norman, born in Uganda, brought up in the UK, & now living in NZ. Explores entangled family relationships, a truly happy mixed race marriage, infertiliy & adoption. Written with wit & warmth.
Wednesday 18 August - Trick of the Dark, a brilliant new stand-alone crime novel from the great Val McDermid. It features a cast of very strong & interesting women & is set at Oxford University. Totally gripping & brilliant - as is her latest Tony Hill thriller, Fever of the Bone, now out in small paperback.
Wednesday 11 August - The Einstein Girl by Philip Sington, a fascinating mystery about Einstein & the 'lost' illegitimate daughter he & his brillliant first wife Mileva had before they were married. Also involves an interesting psychiatrist. Intriguing.
Wednesday 4 August - The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini, winner of the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers. The relationship between Lindiwe (black) & Ian (white) survives under Mugabe in a disintergrating newly-independent Zimbabwe. Very well written, with fascinating insights.
Wednesday 28 July - Grace Williams Says It Loud, a marvellous debut novel from Emma Henderson. Grace is incarcerated in a huge mental institution oustside London in the 1950s. Despite her disbilities she is clever & delightful & forms a heart-warming, joyous & hilarious relationship with Daniel, an epileptic with no arms. Stunning!
Wednesday 21 July - Where Your Left Hand Rests, a glorious little hardback collection of Dame Fiona Kidman's poems. Beautifully produced, with gorgeous end-papers & illustrated with fabrics & embroidery. A treasure to read & to hold.
Wednesday 14 July - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, an extraordinary biography by Rebecca Skloot, about the HeLa cells, taken from a young black woman who died of cancer in 1951 & used ever since, unbeknownst to her family, for the advancement of medical science. Amazing & fascinating!
Wednesday 7 July - Under This Unbroken Sky, an inspiring & heart-breaking novel by Shandi Mitchell about a Ukranian family struggling to survive on the vast Canadian prairies. Strong characters, stunning landscape, beautiuful writing - absolutely un-put-downable!
Wednesday 30 June - 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, a clever, brainy, witty novel by Rebecca Goldstein (partner of Steven Pinker) about religious belief in all its forms. Cass Seltzer, an athiest, becomes famous for a book he has written on Religious Illusion. A complex & fascinating exploration of philosophies, ethics & values.
Wednesday 23 June - Private Life, the latest novel from the great Jane Smiley. Margaret is trapped in a stultifying marriage to a pompous, self-deluded astronomer. There are moments of brilliance in this novel, but much of it is as ponderous as the marriage.
Wednesday 16 June - Sex & Stravinsky, the witty new novel from Barbara Trapido. A light & clever novel in which 2 couples, with very different teenage daughters & one appalling grandmother, become involved in some very interesting swapping!
Wednesday 9 June - Brooklyn, a beautiful, gentle novel from Colm Toibin, who was one of the stars at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival. Eilis reluctanly moves from Ireland to NY & must later decide where she will live permanently. About family, loss, & the connections between people. Absolutely fabulous!
Wednesday 2 June - Laura Rider's Masterpiece. Renowned US author Jane Hamilton is having fun with this light but deliciously amusing novel about sex, romance & emails. Lovely satire!
Wednesday 26 May - The Crossing, by Mandy Hager, winner of the Senior Fiction in the NZ Post Children's Book Awards. A gripping, brilliantly written novel for adults as well, in which Maryam challenges the racism, religious fanaticism & male power structures in a futuristic world.
Wednesday 19 May - Fred & Edie and The Great Lover, both by renowned British novelist Jill Dawson, who was a guest at AWRF. The first is the heart-wrenching story of Edie & her young lover who were hanged for murder in 1923; the second is the brief, brilliant life of poet Rupert Brooke. Both are superb novels!
Wednesday 12 May - Still Alice, an inspiring & moving novel by Lisa Genova, about a brilliant 50 year old woman who gets early-onset Alzheimers disease - she happens to be a world-renowned Professor of Neurolinguistics at Harvard University. Unsentimental, extraordinary handling of a difficult subject.
Wednesday 5 May - Will Grayson, Will Grayson, one of the quirkiest, funniest, most original novels I have ever read! Written by 2 brilliant young adult authors, John Green & David Levithan (a star guest at AWRF) it features a HUGE in-your-face gay teen called Tiny Cooper, & his two friends, both called Will Grayson. Absolutely fantastic!
Wednesday 28 April - Lark & Termite, a brilliant new novel from esteemed American Jayne Anne Phillips. Moving back & forth between the Korean war in 1950 & the USA in 1959, this is a stunning, evocative novel about secrets, loss, love & the magical bonds that unite & sustain people. Superb!
Wednesday 21 April - Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. Honour, duty & a cup of tea - the Major will steal your heart in this hilarious novel about his unlikely realtionship with a widowed Pakistani shopkeeper. Totally delightful; utterly fabulous!!
Wednesday 14 April - February, a beautifully written novel from Canadian Lisa Moore. Helen's husband died in the famous tragedy of the sinking of the Ocean Ranger oil rig, leaving her at the age of 30 to raise their children on her own. Gritty yet gentle, with superbly drawn characters, this is outstanding writing.
Wednesday 7 April - So Much For That. The new novel from Lionel Shriver is a searingly honest, bitingly funny look at the human cost of the American health care & insurance systems. Provocative, lively, upbeat!
Wednesday 31 March - Trespass, Rose Tremain's latest novel which is much darker than her usual work. Two sets of middle-aged siblings, one English & one French, encounter each other in unpleasant ways in the Cevennes. Intriguing & rather sisister.
Wednesday 24 March - Lola, the exquisite new novel from award-winning NZ poet Elizabeth Smither. Lola is an older, wiser woman who moves to NZ after a lifetime in a family of funeral directors in Australia. Full of gorgeous poetic language & wry humour.
Wednesday 17 March - Small Island, the stunning novel by Andrea Levy that won the Best of the Best of the Orange Prize. About the first Jamaican immigrants to London in 1948, it is engrossing, moving, richly humorous, and explores empire, prejudice, war & love. Magnificant!
Wednesday 10 March - The Postmistress, a brilliant debut novel by Sarah Blake, in which a US correspondent broadcasts back to the States from the London blitz & from the trains deporting Jews across Europe. Two women, one of whom is the postmistress, listen to her back in a small Cape Cod town. Moving & fascinating.
Wednesday 3 March - Message From An Unknown Chinese Mother, Xinran's tender, tragic new book about the fate of Chinese baby girls. Written with gentle dignity, it is illuminating & deeply moving.
Wednesday 24 Fbruary - We Are All Made of Glue, the delightful new novel from Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. Hiliarious, serious, totally engaging.
Wednesday 17 February - About a Girl, from award-winning YA author Joanne Horniman, about a young woman in her early 20s who falls in love with another young woman. Set in Australia, gentle, realistic & honest about relationships, beautifully written.
Wednesday 10 February - The Long Song, the wonderful new novel from Andrea Levy, author of the international bestseller & mutli-award-winner Small Island. The feisty Miss July survives the last days of slavery in Jamaica. Brilliant!
Wednesday 3 February - The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian, who is one of our International Summer Season guests. A fascinating exploration of obsession & of art, both modern & impressionist, with an intriguing mystery.
Wednesday 27 January - Consolation, the French best-seller from Anna Gavalda. Darker than Hunting & Gathering, an unusual story of 1 man, 2 remarkable women & an unforgettable transvestite. Quirky characters; 2nd half particularly engaging.
Wednesday 20 January 2010 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo & The Girl Who Played with Fire, books 1 & 2 of Steig Larsson's brilliant trilogy that has taken the world by storm! Sophisticated, intelligent, highly political crime fiction. Un-put-downable!

Wednesday 16 December - Wolf Hall, the stunning Man Booker Prize winner from Hilary Mantel. Thomas Cromwell leaps off the page of this brilliant historical novel set in the time of Henry V111.