It’s a rare occasion that a novel will stand out for its ability to profoundly affect the way the reader sees the world. The Overstory is one such work. Source: Penguin Books UK In this sprawling, 600-plus page novel, Powers takes us through the arcs of several protagonists whose lives – whether wholly or tenuously … Continue reading The Overstory by Richard Powers – Review
reading
Wildwood by Roger Deakin – Review
Part memoir, part travelogue, Wildwood by Roger Deakin is woven with rambling reflections and insights, loosely tackling its theme for a wide-ranging foray into the woods - without ever getting lost. Deakin discusses rookeries, the Green Man, eco-houses, even walnut-inlaid Jaguars in this lengthy reflection on wood as a lived and living thing. His warmth … Continue reading Wildwood by Roger Deakin – Review
Pagan Britain by Ronald Hutton – Review
This 400-page survey of pre-Christian belief in the British Isles is not just an assessment of the historical and archaeological evidence but also an appraisal of historiography, cultural history, sociology, anthropology, and folklore. Hutton sets himself a significant task of charting such vast and ambiguous terrain, which could not be achieved without considerable depth of … Continue reading Pagan Britain by Ronald Hutton – Review
Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez – Review
A wholly excellent synthesis of nature writing, biology, anthropology, environmentalism, and history, alongside a deeply personal reflection upon the Arctic that is entirely deserving of its classic status.Lopez writes with decades of experience, with this opus being a culmination of his passion for the (Canadian/American) hyperboreal. First published in the 80s, Dreams still feels fresh, … Continue reading Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez – Review
Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners – Review
Kelly Link’s award-winning short story collection, Magic for Beginners, whisks the reader along a meandering trail through several unique and inventive twists on the fantastical. Strands of myth, sci-fi and fable commingle with characters who yearn, mock, steal and bicker throughout these nine stories. That might not seem like many but, once read, they leave … Continue reading Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners – Review
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell – Review
If you’ve come into contact with any of David Mitchell’s work before, you’ll be well-acquainted with the sort of genre-switching, time-slipping, scene-shifting fiction that the author is best known for. A film adaptation by the Wachowski siblings in 2012 brought his lauded tapestry of souls, Cloud Atlas (2004), to a wider audience. 2014 heralds the … Continue reading The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell – Review
The Drowned World by J G Ballard – Review
Long before the issue of climate change had really impacted on popular consciousness, there was J G Ballard’s The Drowned World. Ballard’s 1962 debut novel (or rather his second – his first novel, The Wind from Nowhere, he went on to disown) was a product of its time, yet speaks to us today with perhaps … Continue reading The Drowned World by J G Ballard – Review
Opera di Cera by Kelley Swain – Review
Threaded through the twisted physiology of Opera di Cera is a fairy tale of the most fluid sort. It’s as if all the latent symbolism of the venerable story type has been set in a pot and put on a long simmer. The reduction is the concise yet flavoursome verse form of Kelley Swain's unique … Continue reading Opera di Cera by Kelley Swain – Review
The Vorrh by Brian Catling – Review
“My name is Muybridge and here’s the answer to the letter you sent my wife.” The trigger pulls, the muzzle flashes, the bullet cracks, and Major Harry Larkyns is dead – shot at point-blank range in an act of pre-meditated vigilantism. This event is not fiction. It happened in California on October 17th, 1874. The … Continue reading The Vorrh by Brian Catling – Review
Love and Eskimo Snow by Sarah Holt – Review
Ideas-driven fiction is perilous ground for writers at any stage of their career. It poses the constant challenge of balancing the insistent voice of theme with the integral components of the story itself – character, plot and pacing. Too much theme, and you risk turning your fiction into a political pamphlet – too much story, … Continue reading Love and Eskimo Snow by Sarah Holt – Review
Monsters in Eden 