Tag: British

Review: Autumn by Ali Smith

20 August 2024

Writing is hard to spice up, especially when it comes to the way in which a story is told. A typical novel follows a largely chronological telling of a story from a limited amount of perspectives, and that’s that. Ali Smith’s first entry of her Seasonal Quartet of works, Autumn, seeks to challenge how cohesive,…
Review: Fuck Yeah, Video Games by Daniel Hardcastle

7 August 2024

Most YouTubers, especially those who do let’s plays and gaming content, aren’t highly regarded as great writers. The same is somewhat true of Daniel Hardcastle (of Nerd³ fame), but his passion and comedic edge shine through in this love letter to video games. Part autobiography, part educational, part review; Fuck Yeah, Video Games stands as…
Review: Animal Farm by George Orwell

24 May 2024

A novella that many people like to reference, Animal Farm is a suitable criticism of capitalism, greed, and the nature of how we humans — or perhaps any being — inevitably take advantage of the power afforded to us. Whilst not as deep or as clever as some claim it to be, Orwell’s relatively compact…
Review: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

23 December 2023

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

29 November 2023

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…
Review: King Lear by William Shakespeare

24 October 2023

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

12 October 2023

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: Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

18 August 2023

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

3 August 2023

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…
Review: Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw

7 July 2023

A comedic post-apocalyptic novel set in Brisbane; Jam is a book that will entertain you with its nerdy humour and solid wit. The premise is bizarre, with Australia being covered in a man-eating jam overnight. With most of the population being wiped out in a flash, it’s up to Travis and his posse of odd…