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Book Review – Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh
My name is Calla and I wanted to choose. In a world where a key element of a woman’s fate is decided by a crude, ticketed lottery system, Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh is the story of one woman’s rebellion against this imposed destiny, compelled by a dark and powerful driving force within her. In…
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Book Review – The Raptures by Jan Carson
I think it’s safe to say that Jan Carson is now one of my go-to authors from this island; I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by her so far, The Fire Starters in particular, and with The Raptures she’s done it again with a story that is gripping, thought-provoking and downright enjoyable to read, despite the…
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Book Review – Dance Move by Wendy Erskine
Dance Move by Wendy Erskine is a collection of short stories that brings to life a broad and varied cast of characters, each trying to move forwards in their lives. Binding these stories together is the profound impact that moments in our past can have, either shaping how our lives have progressed or simply resurfacing…
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Book Review – Wunderland by Caitríona Lally
Wunderland by Caitríona Lally is a wonderfully conjured portrait of two siblings, each with their own quirks and each struggling with life in their own way. Roy has been swiftly and quietly exiled to Germany, after some rumoured scandal back home in Ireland, to work in Hamburg’s miniature model railway world. Gert, one of his…
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Book Review – Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell
Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell is a short story collection exploring the experiences of young women trying to make their way in this world. The cover design by Jack Smyth now seems particularly apt. These are particular women, yet these could be any woman; the stories detail experiences which are often both personal and, at their…
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Book Review – Of Sunshine and Bedbugs by Isaac Babel
Of Sunshine and Bedbugs: Essential Stories by Isaac Babel is a newly curated collection of stories by Russian author Isaac Babel (1894 – 1940), translated into English by Boris Dralyuk, that draws from previous collections of his stories also translated by Dralyuk. This collection opens with a new and enlightening foreword by Dralyuk, as well…
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Book Review – The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is a beautiful and captivating novel about love and loss, identity and displacement, devastation and renewal. At once heartbreaking and hopeful, the story spans several points in time across almost half a century, taking us from war-torn Cyprus of the 1970’s to London of the late 2010s.…
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Book Review – Fight Night by Miriam Toews
Fight Night by Miriam Toews is an exuberant and compelling story about three generations of women, living together in a house in Toronto which is loud, chaotic and full of cursing but, at its heart, brimming with love. Our nine-year-old narrator Swiv lives with pregnant Mom and elderly Grandma. When Swiv is expelled from school…
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20 Books of Summer ’22
The Challenge 20 Books of Summer is an annual online reading challenge hosted by Cathy Brown of 746books.com, whereby you select a list of 20 books (a great way to make a dent in that ever-growing TBR pile) that you will read, and review, within the time frame (June 1 – September 1 2022). This…
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Book Review – Actress by Anne Enright
Actress by Anne Enright is a beautifully conjured portrait of the life of Katherine O’Dell, fictional star of the stage and screen, as told by her daughter Norah. As Norah is coming to terms with the more difficult later years of her mother’s life, and is approached by a student looking to tell Katherine’s story…
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The Resting Willow 