It is believability indeed that makes Another Way to Dance such a special book. The style is natural and, if not always grammatical, consistent with the language of an exceptionally bright teenager. I can’t think of any reader who would…
Category: Literary Fiction Reviews
A review of The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers by Delia Falconer
This is a lovely, spare but beautifully written book full of contrast. It is a very feminine, reflective, and quiet book about a man whose life was masculine, noisy, and full of action. It takes a single point of history…
A review of About a Girl by Tony Nesca
Through the narrator’s reflections we accumulate an unusually exact understanding of his aims and character. His life is not pretty and he may waver and wobble but he is grounded in honesty. He waves illusion away and sees life with…
A review of New Beginnings
The clear bent is literary fiction, and that makes this a moving collection full of provocative and evocative work from some of the most well known and respected writers working today. This is a wonderful marketing idea, and one which…
A review of The Barbarian Parade by Kirby Gann
This is a stance with true commitment. It is evident in Our Napoleon in Rags and it flowers beautifully in The Barbarian Parade. There is indeed about the latter some virtuosity for its own sake, not at all a bad…
A review of The Rose Notes by Andrea Mayes
Although the story is fast moving and satisfying, with all of the ends cleanly tied up, it isn’t the plot which will stay with the reader once the book is finished. Instead, it is the marvellous passages within the characterisation…
A review of Our Napoleon in Rags by Kirby Gann
This is a short book with few chapters and narrative modes that vary occasionally. Gann pins a situation to the story with an epigrammatically precise choice of words. This is a lively response to the question of what kind of…
A review of Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes by Patricia Highsmith
Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes is a worthwhile collection in that it demonstrates Patricia Highsmith’s artistry when working with the smaller palette of the short story. It isn’t a patch on the novels though. Reviewed by Paul Kane Tales…
A review of Misdemeanor Man by Dylan Schaffer
The style is exceptional and funny. The story – or layers of interrelated stories – never falters. The result is a mixture of exciting tale and moving incidents that create a unique work. One is surprised to note that to…
A review of I Right the Wrongs by Dylan Schaffer
This is abundant material for an author to keep moving and free of tangles. Schaffer manages to keep the mixture interesting and allows enough interplay to keep all parts of his groupings functional. Seegerman’s father, for example, was a former…