I’ve never been so enticed by a booker selection as I was with the 2018 shortlist, and so, I read them all (with the exception of Mars Room) and therefore, I now dare to talk about my favourites among them and who I think deserved to win. Honestly, any of these books would make a…
Category: 2018
Poetry in Prose: A Review of ‘The Long Take’ by Robin Robertson
Quite simply, The Long Take is an aching ode to the common man, the war veteran, the constantly-changing cities, and the soot-and-silver movies of the 40s-50s. A novel written in poetry, this book follows the recently-returned Canadian veteran Walker, on his exploration of the post WWII America and the American dream. Walker begins his journey…
Poetic, Painful, Profound: A Review of Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
The novel opens with a 13 year old Jojo claiming his understanding of death as he stands watching his loving Pop (grandfather) butcher a wild hog. It’s his birthday and he is eager to show himself a man. His throwing up after he helps his Pop clean up shows he’s not quite there yet. Sing,…
More ‘Ghost Story’ than ‘Love Story’: A Review of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca was my first tryst with a thriller, and at the impressionable age of 16, it became fundamental. Not that I hadn’t read my share of the ‘mysteries’ – the Famous Fives, the Sherlock Holmes, even the Miss Marple books, but Rebecca was different. I mistook it for a love story, a classic ‘Cinderella’ tale,…
The Summer That Lasted a Lifetime: A Review of Call me by your Name by André Aciman
No book celebrates summer more lavishly than Call me by your Name, a masterpiece on first love. The slow pace of its narrative is synonymous with the lazy, languid days of the Italian countryside summertime it is set in, where every moment is spent reading, splashing around in the pool, playing the piano, discussing art…
