Category: Book Reviews
Review: A Place in the Woods by Helen Hoover
A very calming recount of a lifestyle that has continued to die out as the years go by. A Place in the Woods tells the true story of Helen and Adrian Hoover as they leave their residence in Chicago to enjoy a life in the wilderness next to Lake Superior, just after the midpoint of…
Review: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Beautiful, sombre, and touching. Often touted as Ishiguro’s most sincere and top-quality release, The Remains of the Day certainly earns that title. The story itself is unassuming, following Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, as he takes a short summer trip in his employer’s Ford. Despite being set in 1956, much of the story…
Review: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
A return to form, that’s one way to put it. Klara and the Sun, as of writing, is Ishiguro’s latest in a strong library of works—but it seems to have prevailed as one of his more memorable novels. Following Klara, an Artificial Friend (AF), the reader is introduced to a dystopian, near-future vision of American…
Review: King Lear by William Shakespeare
King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s most notable and tolerable works. Despite how it seems, I actually say the latter part with good intent; remaining easy for modern audiences to follow, even after centuries of cultural and lingual change. The story of King Lear is one of corruption, loyalty, and good versus evil. After the…
Review: Back Story by David Mitchell
Whilst I’m not one to indulge in the life or pasts of celebrities, it is interesting to learn about the growing pains of a successful, if ever awkward, British comedian. Mitchell’s autobiography is rather simple: it talks of his early life — childhood, school, and the troubles his parents endured — to his first foray…
Review: Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
An insight into the terrors of war and how we cope as people. Half of a Yellow Sun stands as a profound and significant work in addressing the Biafran War that divided Nigeria across the late 1960s. The novel follows three characters: Ugwu, a village boy turned servant; Olanna, the wife of Ugwu’s master; Richard,…
Review: The Story of Tomoda and Matsunaga by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki
Well-written, intriguing, and rather insightful for a century-old work. The Story of Tomoda and Matsunaga can now finally be conveniently enjoyed by English readers within the Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories. Told from the perspective of K, a Japanese novelist, the story concerns a strange and lively man, Tomoda Ginza, and a woman who…
Review: Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
A quiet commentary buried under a somewhat unhappy tone; Breasts and Eggs, which was Mieko Kawakami’s first significant literary work, stands as an interesting read for this reason. Split into two halves (separated by a decade), we follow Natsu as she becomes a budding author and attempts to wrangle with the pressures of society, work,…
Review: Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
Fun and memorable, whilst standing as one of Dahl’s best releases nearly fifty years on. Danny, the Champion of the World is not only a mouthful to say, but a fun novel that all ages can enjoy. Set in the 1970s, the story follows Danny and his father as the two live in a caravan…
Review: A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
Touching and odd, Ishiguro’s debut work stands as an interesting short novel, marking the beginning of a long and excellent writing career. A Pale View of Hills follows Etsuko, a middle-aged Japanese mother who recounts her past whilst living in Britain. As she copes with the recent suicide of her eldest daughter, Keiko, Etsuko reflects…
