Author Archives: drewsmith28

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About drewsmith28

Words, words, words...

Under major domo minor by Patrick deWitt (Granta)

Posted on October 29, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Lucien Minor’s mother had not wept, had not come close to weeping in their parting.” THE much anticipated (in these quarters) second book from Patrick deWitt, the follow up to Scissor Sisters. The two share striking graphic covers, and sharp … Continue reading →

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Notes on the Man Booker prize 2015

Posted on October 23, 2015 by drewsmith28

ONE of the Amazon reviewers of Marlon James’s winning Brief History of Seven Killings said that: “If you are interested in Jamaica, corruption, sex and killings, this is a must read”. My problem is I am not interested in that … Continue reading →

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A brief history of seven killings by Marlon James (Oneworld)

Posted on October 23, 2015 by drewsmith28

“I know I was fourteen. That me know. I also know that too many people talk too much, especially the American who never shut up, just switch to a laugh every time he talk ’bout you, and it sound strange … Continue reading →

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Nora Webster by Colm Toibin (Penguin)

Posted on October 21, 2015 by drewsmith28

“You must be fed up with them. Will they never stop coming?” WE are back in Enniscorthy on the south east tip of Ireland midway between Dublin and Cork. We have already met Nora tangentially in Brooklyn. Eilis’s mother called … Continue reading →

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A spool of blue thread by Anne Tyler (Vintage)

Posted on October 6, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Late one July evening in 1994,  Red and Abby Whitshank had a phone call from their son Denny.” I AM bemused as to what this is doing on the Man Booker 2015 short list. It is a completely different proposition … Continue reading →

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So you don’t get lost in the neighbourhood by Patrick Modiano (Maclehose)

Posted on October 2, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Almost nothing. Like an insect bite that initially strikes you as very slight. At least that is what you tell yourself in a low voice so as to reassure yourself.” THE perfect novel, I might speculate, would be 155 pages … Continue reading →

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The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota (Picador)

Posted on September 30, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Randeep Sanghera stood in front of the green-and-blue map tacked on the wall. The map had come with the flat, and though it was big and wrinkled, and cigarette butts had once stubbed black islands into the mid Atlantic, he’d … Continue reading →

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The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma (One)

Posted on September 22, 2015 by drewsmith28

“We were fishermen. My brothers and I became fishermen in January of 1996 after our father moved out of Akure, a town in the west of Nigeria, where we had lived together all our lives.” LIKE the Seven Killings book … Continue reading →

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A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (Picador)

Posted on September 15, 2015 by drewsmith28

“The eleventh apartment had only one closet, but it did have a sliding glass door that opened onto a small balcony, from which he could see a man sitting across the way, outdoors in only a T shirt and shorts … Continue reading →

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The Illuminations by Andrew O’Hagan (Faber)

Posted on August 19, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Snow was falling past the window and in her sleep she pictured a small girl and her father in a railway carriage”. We have two modern themes here,  dimentia and computer war games in Afghanistan. They are wrapped around a … Continue reading →

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