Category Archives: fiction

Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin (Daunt)

Posted on February 17, 2020 by drewsmith28

“He arrived muffled up in a woollen coat.” ELISA Shua Dusapin is Korean, Swiss and French all of which infuse this short would-be love story, told in staccato English, as if the grammar were Korean hieroglyphics. Out of season, the … Continue reading →

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Scrublands by Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin)

Posted on February 13, 2020 by drewsmith28

“The day is still. The heat, having eased during the night, is building again; the sky is cloudless and unforgiving, the sun punishing.”   THE journalist as detective sleuth is obvious, if largely uncharted. Maybe there is a mental barrier … Continue reading →

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Long Bright River by Liz Moore (Penguin)

Posted on February 4, 2020 by drewsmith28

“There is a body on the Gurney Street tracks.” THE come-on cover copy and graphics suggest this is another crimo-detecto: Move over Michael Connelly. Step aside James Lee Burke. There is a new girl in town. A new town in … Continue reading →

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The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James (dead ink)

Posted on January 16, 2020 by drewsmith28

“This book is dangerous” Brash, original, smart… star reporter Daniel James chases down the elusive recluse that is Ezra Maas, cult artist, vanished megastar…this is the kind of book destined, I hope, to find a cult following of its own, … Continue reading →

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Agent Running in the Field by John Le Carre (Viking)

Posted on December 14, 2019 by drewsmith28

“Our meeting was not contrived.” I AM on page 278 of 281 and I am still no wiser as to where this whodunwhat of a plot is going. There have been twists and turns and upshots and cross checks so … Continue reading →

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Love by Toni Morrison (Vintage)

Posted on November 28, 2019 by drewsmith28

“The women’s legs are spread wide open, so I hum.” I Am surprised no one has tried to film of this excellent book such is the lure of the dancing and parties at the hotel, the scenic beach side setting … Continue reading →

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Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Hamish Hamilton)

Posted on November 27, 2019 by drewsmith28

“Amma is walking along the promenade of the waterway that bisects her city, a few early morning barges cruises slowly by…” PLOT? What plot? Themes, yes we have them agogo – mixed race, London, gender, motherhood etc – but no, … Continue reading →

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Strange weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami (Portobello)

Posted on October 26, 2019 by drewsmith28

“His full name was Mr Harutsuna Matsumoto, but I called him Sensei. Not Mr or Sir, but Sensei” THE original title of this off-beat romance was The Briefcase which as I read it is titillating bait. Which way does this … Continue reading →

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The Testament by Margaret Atwood (Chatto & Windus)

Posted on October 8, 2019 by drewsmith28

“Only dead people are allowed to have statues, but I have been given one while still alive. Already I am petrified.” THAT is, perhaps, one of the finest opening lines to a novel I have read, defining, coy, a come … Continue reading →

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Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker)

Posted on August 21, 2019 by drewsmith28

My dearest Ellen, Please excuse this too-long-delayed response JOSEPH, how nice to see you again. Another tome, lovely. A pleasure, I am sure. A treat even. Back in the Ghost Light territory are we? I never connected that Bram Stoker … Continue reading →

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