Vulpes Libris
A collective of bibliophiles talking about books. Book Fox (vulpes libris): small bibliovorous mammal of overactive imagination and uncommonly large bookshop expenses. Habitat: anywhere the rustle of pages can be heard.
Category Archives: Fiction: literary
Lyres and guitarists
It was the combination of mountains, guitars and a language that I don’t know that drew me to this book, and I enjoyed it very much. The Descent of the … Continue reading
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black: a literary and rather grim collection
From the blind girl who sees more than her parents can, to the portrait artist who sees more than her clients might wish, Robin Black illuminates secret fears, hidden desires, … Continue reading
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr
I was 17 years old when I first read Last Exit to Brooklyn. My mother would have been horrified had she known, but I was away at college and could … Continue reading
Banquet of Lies by Amin Zaoui and Frank Wynne
As part of our Shocking and Banned Book week, we’re taking the opportunity to re-run Jay Benedict’s review of Amin Zaoui’s ‘Banquet of Lies’, originally published in September 2008 – … Continue reading
Reptiles and body parts
A serendipitous and scaly read of Ned Beauman’s The Teleportation Accident, and Terry Richard Bazes’ Lizard World So, I read these novels one after the other on holiday, and finished … Continue reading
Walking through walls in Montmartre
Marcel Aymé’s calmly fantastical short stories reviewed, with an interview with the translator on the craft of translating. Classic French literature can be intimidating. I’ve enjoyed a bit of Zola, … Continue reading
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – a stonkingly good novel and a worthy prizewinner
Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends … Continue reading
Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos (Translated by Rosalind Harvey)
‘I love three-cornered hats, because they’re mad soldiers hats. You put one on and you feel like running off all on your own to invade the nearest kingdom.’ Down the … Continue reading
Vulpes Libris’ All Time Greats: The Top Ten – Number 8.
At Number 8, from October 2007, one of our very earliest pieces – Leena’s review of W Somerset Maugham’s ‘Theatre’. I saw István Szabó’s film Being Julia (2004) some time … Continue reading
Medieval Norwegians in translation
My friend Paula gave me an enormous doorstop of a novel with a detail from a medieval painted wooden chest on the cover, because she thought I might like it, … Continue reading
How could I have ignored this Charlotte Bronte novel for so long?
For years, I’ve vaguely been aware that Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley (1849) is the one novel of hers that I never read properly. Jane Eyre and Villette jostle for the position … Continue reading
Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg – a novel which tries hard but doesn’t quite manage to fly
It’s 1830. Neil and Lizzie MacKenzie, a newly married young couple, arrive at the remotest part of the British Isles: St Kilda. He is a minister determined to save the … Continue reading
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