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REVIEW: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Shall we have a look at something cosy and heart-warming for a change? The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is a lovely, touching, feel good book. Published in 2012 and a Sunday Times best seller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Award, longlisted for the Man…
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REVIEW: Pine
Fancy a juicy gothic thriller to curl up with on a dark winter’s night? Well I have just the thing for you here. Pine, published in 2020, is the first novel from Scottish author, poet and editor Francine Toon and is a great spine-tingler for a December evening. Set in a small village surrounded by…
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REVIEW: The Honjin Murders
I love a good crime novel. I am also rather partial to Japanese literature. So when I found this, on Amazon I believe, I could not resist. Seishi Yokomizo is one of Japan’s most revered crime novelists and also one of the most prolific. The Honjin Murders introduces Yokomizo’s much-loved amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi. There…
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REVIEW: The Trees
If Sweet Bean Paste is one of the most beautiful books I have read this year, then The Trees is one of the most surprising. You know what it’s like. You’re in Waterstones bookshop, you have one ‘buy-one-get-one-half-price’ book in your hand and you are struggling to decide on the second book. A customer assistant…
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REVIEW: A Man Called Ove
The titular hero of A Man Called Ove, a grumpy, 59-year-old Swede who believes nearly all other humans are imbecilic, spends the vast majority of this book trying to commit suicide only to find himself thwarted at every turn. Now you’d think that doesn’t make for much cheerfulness, but this novel by Fredrik Backman is…
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REVIEW: The Moon is Down
I love John Steinbeck. For me, Of Mice and Men is the most poignant, perfectly-formed small novel ever written. The Moon is Down, however, appeals to me as much for the story inside the pages as for the story outside it. By the time this small book was published in 1942, Steinbeck was already lauded…
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REVIEW: Sweet Bean Paste
I’ve read a lot of novels this year, but this stands out as one of my favourites. First published in English in 2017, it is written by Durian Sukegawa, A Tokyo-based author who studied Oriental philosophy and previously worked as a journalist in Germany and Cambodia. I had never heard of the book or the…
Raynor Reads Stuff 