For those unfamiliar with the name, Ben Lerner is an American poet, novelist, essayist and critic. He is an English professor at Brooklyn College and the author of The Topeka School, Leaving the Atocha Station and several acclaimed works of poetry. You might not find Lerner’s latest novel, Transcription (released in April), at the airport […]
Author Archives: Ms A
August
05
A Better Life by Lionel Shriver
posted by Ms A
Anyone who’s read We Need to Talk About Kevin knows exactly why I’d drop everything for a new novel from Lionel Shriver, the reigning Queen of Taboo, especially when it comes to family dysfunction and difficult masculinity. Nobody does bedrooms, browser histories and aimless male resentment quite like her. This time the taboo is immigration, […]
May
13
A Rising of the Lights by Steve Toltz
posted by Ms A
A Rising of the Lights by Steve Toltz is not a book that sells itself easily. A novel about fraudsters, failure, hypnotism, artificial intelligence, sleep talking and emotional collapse sounds less like fiction and more like the daily observations of my friend Paddy in the dog park. It’s hard to imagine the pitch meeting going […]
January
27
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
posted by Ms A
Dear Ms Evans, Please let me begin by congratulating you on the success of your most recent novel, The Correspondent. Many friends — whose opinions I admire greatly when it comes to outstanding books — recommended it to me, and I am very grateful they did. I have to admit, it took a little while […]
August
15
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin
posted by Ms A
Hungover in church, Izzy wipes the sweat from her brow with a balled-up tissue from her sleeve. With people she knows pressing against her on all sides; there’s no space to to take off her jumper. When she moves to kneel, she smells her own sweat and tries to breathe deeply. “Lord have mercy.” That […]
July
10
Too Soon by Betty Shamieh
posted by Ms A
Arabella is a thirty-five-year-old theatre director living in New York. She descends from a family of Palestinian migrants, but has spent her entire career chasing Tony Awards without disclosing her background. She is conflicted daily by a combination of resentment and pride in her heritage. She’s also conflicted on the relationship front – lurching between […]
July
03
The Long Walk by Stephen King
posted by Ms A
Last month, I took a break from contemporary, literary fiction for a dose of dystopian horror in form of vintage Stephen King. Yes, this book snob read a Stephen King book…and loved every page of it. The Long Walk was not the first of Stephen King’s novels to be published, but it was the first […]
June
30
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
posted by Ms A
It’s a rare book that can be both a guide to the sudden loss of a spouse and a genuinely enjoyable read, but Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks does just that. With a protective wink, my neighbour and dear friend, slipped me her copy wanting to make sure I had the benefit of any pre-planning […]
March
17
The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden
posted by Ms A
I fell in love with this book the moment I saw it. A small, dusty pink hardback, perched elegantly on the shelf at Glee Books. I took my copy to the counter and the cashier gave me a knowing nod as if I had stumbled onto Chanel at the local Vinnies. I walked home clutching […]
February
09
Dusk by Robbie Arnott
posted by Ms A
When I think of Tasmania, I don’t think of wild pumas. Tasmanian tigers, sure. Devils, obviously. But pumas? Not so much. So when this book opened with, “Word reached the twins that a puma was taking shepherds up in the highlands,” I did what any reasonable person would do—I put the book down and Googled: […]
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