Forethoughts: Kapitoil by Teddy Wayne

I come to the next novel on my reading list – Kapitoil by Teddy Wayne (Duckworth Publishers (US – Harper Perennial)) – knowing very little about it, or its author. Given that this is a debut novel, that’s probably not surprising, but if you know anything about Rob and RobAroundBooks then you’ll know [...]

Forethoughts: The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy

My first introduction to Simon Van Booy came in January 2009 when Harper Perennial opened the doors to their wonderful Fifty-Two Stories website. For their inaugural post they chose the story The Missing Statues, from the then not-so-well-known author, taken from his collection, Love Begins in Winter. I reviewed that story the following month, [...]

Forethoughts: Fists by Pietro Grossi

And so my reading journey through this year’s Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist brings me to smallest of the offerings in the final six, Fists by Pietro Grossi (Pushkin Press). And if my expectations were soaring ahead of the last shortlist title that I read (Brodeck’s Report by Philippe Claudel (MacLehose Press)) , then [...]

Forethoughts: Brodeck’s Report by Philippe Claudel

Exciting times ahead then as I set off on my reading journey through this year’s Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist. And my excitement couldn’t be higher as I begin with the novel that in my mind holds the most expectation – Brodeck’s Report by Philippe Claudel (MacLehose Press). Since its publication in February 2009 [...]

Forethoughts: A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee

*Note: My afterthoughts for this novel have now been posted*
With the read through of my last novel done ‘n’ dusted I thought I’d keep the cultural ball rolling with a ‘kick around’ of A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee. Recently published by Constable & Robinson, I’ve been looking forward to reading this debut novel [...]

Forethoughts: The Education of a British-Protected Child by Chinua Achebe

And so I come to The Education of a British-Protected Child, a book penned by one of the real icons of African literature, Nigerian Chinua Achebe. Recently published in the UK on the 12th January 2010 by Allen Lane (an imprint of Penguin), this new work from Achebe – a writer perhaps most [...]

Forethoughts: All That I Have by Castle Freeman

Note: My afterthoughts on All That I Have have now been posted.
The reading fun never stops here at RobAround Manor as I move swiftly on to the next novel in my wobbly book pile, All That I Have by Castle Freeman, which is published by Duckworth today (21st January). And to be honest with [...]

Forethoughts: Bequest by Anna Shevchenko

Thankfully the blogging blood is finally coursing through my body again, and it’s time to move on to my 2nd read of this new year, Bequest, the promising debut novel from Ukrainian-born author Anna Shevchenko, which is published by Headline this very week (7th January).
You may remember me talking about Bequest only a couple [...]

Forethoughts: Presence – Collected Stories by Arthur Miller

It really is Miller Time this time, as I begin my journey through Arthur Miller’s collected short stories

Forethoughts: city-lit BERLIN

Rob’s back to firing on all cylinders and he’s celebrating with a journey around literary Berlin

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