Category Archives: fiction

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber)

Posted on March 30, 2015 by drewsmith28

“You would have searched a long time for the sort of winding lane or tranquil meadow for which England later became celebrated.” We are in Shrek country. Frodo-land. There are ogres, sprites, curses. It is middle England, post Arthurian, pre … Continue reading →

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Brooklyn by Colm Toibin (Penguin)

Posted on March 14, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Eilis Lacey, sitting at the window of the upstairs living room in the house on Friary Street, noticed her sister walking briskly from work.” Another major Irish talent. This one from County Wexford. A professor no less in creative writing. … Continue reading →

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Sleep in Peace Tonight by James MacManus (Duckworth)

Posted on February 3, 2015 by drewsmith28

“The seaplane came into view just as the winter sun had begun to settle into the English Channel.” WOLF Hall for another era. Bring up the Brogue. We are at the court of king Winston. Britain 1941. The empire is … Continue reading →

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The Children Act by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape)

Posted on January 23, 2015 by drewsmith28

“London. Trinity term one week old. Implacable June weather. Fiona Maye, a High Court Judge, at home on Sunday evening.” The BBC used to be very good at this kind of drama, a little unassuming well grounded plot that turns … Continue reading →

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The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook (Penguin)

Posted on September 11, 2014 by drewsmith28

“The beast is here. I’ve seen him. Berti’s seen him. Dietmar’s seen him.” IT would seem to have taken a long time for writers to get to grips with all the emotions and smells of World War 11, as if … Continue reading →

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The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry (Faber)

Posted on August 11, 2014 by drewsmith28

“In the middle of the lonesome town, at the back of John Street, in the third house from the end, there is a little room. For this small bracket in the long paragraph of the street’s history, it belongs to … Continue reading →

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The Thrill of it All by Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker)

Posted on July 24, 2014 by drewsmith28

“My name is Robbie Goulding. I was once a musician. For five years in the 1980s I played guitar with The Ships.” I gave my first copy to my daughter in New York who is into her music. The second … Continue reading →

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The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry (Faber)

Posted on July 9, 2014 by drewsmith28

“It’s a beautiful night and no mistake. You would never think there was a war somewhere” In a Literary World Cup, my money would be on Ireland. I read a sarky review of one of Sebastian Barry’s novels in the … Continue reading →

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A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride (Galley Beggar)

Posted on June 23, 2014 by drewsmith28

“She and me. Like to lurk here in the day. Those gossips we have are the very best and we read and read. Quote quotes back forth. That’s good for sharing books of this and that. Word perfect. We snick … Continue reading →

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Icefields by Thomas Wharton (Washington Square Press)

Posted on June 20, 2014 by drewsmith28

“At a quarter past three in the afternoon on August 17, 1898, Doctor Edward Byrne slipped on the ice of Arcturus glacier in the Canadian Rockies and slid into a crevasse” Wharton’s take on the founding of the Jasper community … Continue reading →

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