Category Archives: fiction

Young skins by Colin Barrett (Vintage)

Posted on November 26, 2015 by drewsmith28

“My town is nowhere you have been, but you know its ilk. A roundabout off a national road, an industrial estate, a five screen Cineplex, a century of pubs packed inside the square mile of the town’s limits. The Atlantic … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A concise Chinese-English dictionary for lovers by Xiaolu Guo (Vintage)

Posted on November 18, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Usually the man says a thing, and the woman questions it.” AN easy, very literal conceit: young Chinese girl meets middle aged white Englishman. Be my guest, he says. And so she moves in with him. Unfortunately for her he … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The burning room by Michael Connelly (Orion)

Posted on November 17, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Deep down Bosch knew the dead were the dead and they no longer suffered the cruelties of life.” I lIKE Harry, he is the sort of detective you might want on your block, ex-Vietnam ‘gator, single parent, coffee obsessive, jazz-listener, … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in fiction, Outtakes | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in fiction, In progress | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment