Category Archives: 101greatreads

The vegetarian by Han Kang (Portobello)

Posted on June 18, 2016 by drewsmith28

“Before my wife turned vegetarian, I had always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way.” HAD this abrasive exercise in misogynic chauvinism, puppet women, mad dreams, bizarre pornography been written by a man I wager it might have … Continue reading →

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Grief is the thing with feathers by Max Porter (Faber)

Posted on June 13, 2016 by drewsmith28

“There is a feather on my pillow.” THERE are only three characters here, the crow, the dad and twin boys sharing the grief after their mother dies. Each has their perspective. The dad: ‘wondering what to do. Shuffling around‘. The … Continue reading →

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The life-changing magic of tidying by Marie Kondo (Vermillion)

Posted on June 9, 2016 by drewsmith28

“When I tell people that my job is teaching others how to tidy, I am usually met with looks of amazement.” I DO NOT recall if I ever actually wrote the notorious essay A Day In The Life of a … Continue reading →

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Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante (Europa)

Posted on May 31, 2016 by drewsmith28

“I saw Lila for the last time five years ago, in the winter of 2005”. FERRANTE starts the third book of her Neapolitan quartet with a burst of energy, bubbling to get on with things. She leaps forward, gathering her … Continue reading →

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The story of a new name by Elena Ferrante (Europa)

Posted on March 24, 2016 by drewsmith28

“In the spring of 1966, Lila in a state of great agitation, entrusted to me a metal box that contained eight notebooks”. NEW readers do not start here. The second part of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan passionatas is not a sequel, … Continue reading →

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Being mortal by Atul Gawande (Metropolitan)

Posted on March 18, 2016 by drewsmith28

“I learned about a lot of things in medical school, but mortality wasn’t one of them.” ON the surface this is the story of the death of Atul Gawande’s father, who, which makes it the more poignant, was also a … Continue reading →

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My brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante (Europa)

Posted on February 25, 2016 by drewsmith28

“This morning Rino telephoned. I thought he wanted money again and I was ready to say no.” WE start with a mystery, a disappearance. And also a set of family trees, in case you might need to flip back quickly … Continue reading →

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In the cafe of lost youth By Patrick Modiano (MacLehose Press)

Posted on February 18, 2016 by drewsmith28

“Of the two entrances to the cafe, she always used the narrower one, the one they called the shabby door.” CLEVER, this. Modiano drills down into a euro-psyche of paranoia, of living in a world of secret policemen, of secrets … Continue reading →

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The 100 best novels in English by Robert McCrum (Galileo)

Posted on February 5, 2016 by drewsmith28

“The first classic of English literature I remember reading is Animal Farm. I must have been about 11 years old.” THE very first novel, Robert McCrum argues, was a protest by a puritan dissenter written from inside prison, Pilgrim’s Progress, … Continue reading →

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The wallcreeper by Nell Zink (Fourth Estate)

Posted on January 27, 2016 by drewsmith28

“I was looking at the map when Stephen swerved, hit the rock, and occasioned the miscarriage.” A WALLCREEPER is a small, blue grey mountain bird, similar to a nuthatch except it has striking crimson wings which only show in flight. … Continue reading →

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