A English fenland family faces the truth about their history, and what they discover is deeper and darker than they could have imagined. Bill Hussey is the new M.R.James.
Tag: fiction
A review of The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
If The Enchantress of Florence were expertly edited, and I’m afraid that few would dare edit someone of Rushdie’s caliber to the extent required, it could have been a masterpiece. As it is, it’s an enjoyable, but convoluted novel that takes on a difficult and fascinating historical subject matter and turns it into something entirely modern.
A review of The Only True Genius in the Family by Jennie Nash
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, argues that natural genius is a myth, and that other factors, including hard work, are what distinguish the top performers at something, given equal ability. Nash addresses this myth, and makes it a vital part of her central protagonist’s journey.
A review of The Rasner Effect by Mark Rosendorf
The Rasner Effect is a multifaceted psychological thriller peopled with convincing characters, packed with gritty, pithy discourse all set against a backdrop of trickery, maneuvering and danger.
A review of Wanting by Richard Flanagan
As with Gould’s Book of Fish, Wanting undermines history, recreating it in a magical realism form that tells a greater truth. Like Adrienne Eberhart’s Jane, Lady Franklin, what drives the story is not what happened but what was felt. Unlike Eberhart’s Lady Franklin, Flanagan’s heroine is as guilty as she is tragic. She destroys what she loves by denying herself.
A review of Courage of Fear By Barbara Boyer
Courage of Fear is a fascinating offering from a writer with an already individual voice. Read it to be in there on the ground floor, for it is a sure harbinger of much good work to follow.
A review of Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
Christopher Paolini has the uncanny knack of leaving a chapter hanging just at a crucial point before lifting off to some other character – and leaving that hanging as well! It creates nail biting suspense as well as urging you to keep on going.
A review of The Sea Lady by Margaret Drabble
This is a masterly display of passion gone wrong performed by a novelist who has here written, as she has sometimes in other works failed to do, a work of sustained interest and vitality. Those acquainted with her other works will want to read this book. Readers who have not yet read any of Drabble’s books, will find this one a good one with which to begin.
A review of Nectar of the Gods by Gwen C. Watkins
Essentially, mind, Watkins gives us a grand feat of storytelling; and after a ride that takes in plenty of diverting incident, myriad twists and turns, and a denouement deftly concealed, we are left with an open-ended ending.
A review of Something to Tell You by Hanif Kureishi
It’s easy to imagine that Kureishi’s intent here was to provide a sense of the era, and the immediate colour that these characters conjure, but instead these dropped-in names turns the book into a compendium of the times and detracts from both the character development and the fictive dream.