Category Archives: fiction

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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Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain (Gallic)

Posted on July 31, 2019 by drewsmith28

“It happened in the middle of a brightly moonlight night in the Beaujolais vineyards.” ANTOINE Laurain writes the kind of stories that do not seem to get published in Britain – a plot, a gaggle of characters, mostly quite likable … Continue reading →

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Spring by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton)

Posted on April 30, 2019 by drewsmith28

“Now what we don’t want is Facts” THE first two of this potential quartet – Autumn and Winter –  were pleasant if not totally convincing as the contemporary novel of weight and import. This on the other hand opens with … Continue reading →

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