Thoughts on “City of Thieves” by David Benioff (Audiobook)

Several months ago, my brother picked up City of Thieves by David Benioff. When I asked him how it was, he replied that he’d stayed up until 4am just to see how it ended. That was enough of a recommendation for me, so I picked up a copy. Like so many of my other books, …

Thoughts on “The Tale of Halcyon Crane” by Wendy Webb

An isolated island, an enormous drafty house, a dark and secret past: these are the makings of a perfect Victorian-esque ghost story. They also comprise the setting for The Tale of Halcyon Crane, coming at the end of March from Wendy Webb. The Tale of Halcyon Crane is the sort of book you reach for …

Thoughts on “Half Life” by Roopa Farooki

I just finished the most beautiful book. I picked up Half Life by Roopa Farooki because it was compared, on the back of the galley, to Jhumpa Lahiri and Slumdog Millionaire. But after reading the book, I don’t think it’s quite fair to hang its success on its similarities to other famous Indian authors; this …

Thoughts on Sandra Gulland’s “Josephine” Books

Well, my slow journey through Sandra Gulland’s trilogy of novels about Josephine Bonaparte has finally come to an end. What a lovely journey it was! They are the epitome of great historical fiction: engaging, rich with true details, full of familiar figures brought to life. They were so good I ordered a biography of Josephine …

Thoughts on “Suite Francaise” by Irene Nemirovsky (Audiobook)

Well, I bit the bullet and finished Suite Francaise on audio today. When I’d stopped the day before, I had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen, and I just couldn’t bear more suffering to be inflicted on the poor characters. It did not go the way I feared. On the contrary, I …