How to Survive the London Book Fair: An Author’s Guide

Roving Reporter RosyB goes along to find out what all the fuss is about and gives us her Top Tips on Surviving the London Book Fair. 1. Don’t do it! This was the only piece of advice I got when I shyly mooted the idea of going to the London Book Fair. You don’t want [...]

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The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman

Review by The Right Reverend George Hacker, former Bishop of Penrith. If this were a book about the Prophet Muhammad, it would already have earned the author a Fatwa, and he would be taking shelter in a safe house somewhere, à la Salman Rushdie. As it is Philip Pullman has received his quota of hate [...]

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Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

“War,” says Mayor Prentiss, his eyes glinting. “At last.” So begins Monsters of Men, the final volume in Patrick Ness’s multi-award-winning Chaos Walking trilogy. Lines have been drawn, armies are marching; divisive and polarising leaders have got what they wanted. And Todd and Viola are caught in the middle of it, faced with ominous odds [...]

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Fear of Mirrors by Tariq Ali

The story as Gertrude told it sounded tedious.  I knew the tone well.  It was the voice she usually put on for outsiders when she decided to regale them with stories of her heroic past: her voice slightly raised, her nostrils slightly expanded, her eyes shining with a slightly fanatical gleam, but it was a [...]

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Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger: a process of disengagement

Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers – normal, at least, for identical “mirror” twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cosy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn’t know existed has died and left them her flat in [...]

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Coming up on Vulpes Libris

The Foxes are full of questions this week as they tackle acclaimed authors, political dilemmas and theological debates.  And book fairs.  What is a lobster fountain, anyway? On Monday, Anne experiences a strange process of disengagement in Audrey Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry. On Tuesday, Kirsty explores the politics of alienation in Tariq Ali’s outstanding Fear [...]

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Love begins in winter by Simon Van Booy

On the verge of giving up – anchored to dreams that never came true and to people who have long since disappeared from their lives – Van Booy’s characters walk the streets of these stark and beautiful stories until chance meetings with strangers force them to face responsibility for lives they thought had continued on [...]

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Caesar: De Bello Gallico/The Gallic War

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres… Caesar, having begun his commentarii in this immortal fashion, guided us across the landscapes of Gaul and Britain through his nine year campaign.  Michael, having taken years of Latin, reflected upon the Latin texts which influenced him and which he enjoyed most during his undergraduate career.  His nostalgia, [...]

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The Italian Matchmaker by Santa Montefiore

Subjecting The Italian Matchmaker to the same level of critical analysis as, say, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (coming soon to a book blog near you …) would be both ludicrous, unfair and far too much fun – because this is an ultra-lightweight candyfloss read, designed for days when you just want [...]

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Life Class by Pat Barker

Spring, 1914. The students at the Slade School of Art gather in Henry Tonks’s studio for his life-drawing class. But for Paul Tarrant the class is troubling, underscoring his own uncertainty about making a mark on the world. When war breaks out and the army won’t take Paul, he enlists in the Belgian Red Cross [...]

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