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 … [Read more...]
Forethoughts: Brodeck’s Report by Philippe Claudel
April 23, 2010 By 6 Comments
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 … [Read more...]
Forethoughts: A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee
February 7, 2010 By 4 Comments
*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 … [Read more...]
Forethoughts: The Education of a British-Protected Child by Chinua Achebe
February 7, 2010 By 4 Comments
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 … [Read more...]
Forethoughts: All That I Have by Castle Freeman
January 21, 2010 By 3 Comments
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 … [Read more...]
Forethoughts: Bequest by Anna Shevchenko
January 8, 2010 By 1 Comment
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 … [Read more...]
Forethoughts: city-lit BERLIN
November 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment
So it's Hey-O and away I go as I head off to Berlin for my next read, with the latest city-lit edition from Oxygen Books. If you’re a regular reader of RobAroundBooks then you’ll know that I’m a bit of a fan of the city-lit series. For … [Read more...]
Forethoughts: Knut Hamsun Dreamer and Dissenter
September 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
And so I move on to a linchpin in my recently announced Totally Knut reading project, Ingar Sletten Kolloen’s newly published (in English) biography on Knut Hamsun, entitled Knut Hamsun: Dreamer and Dissenter (Yale University Press). I said in … [Read more...]
Forethoughts: Soothing Music for Stray Cats by Jayne Joso
September 23, 2009 By 5 Comments
And so Rob’s reading eyes turn to the next book on the never-decreasing book pile and this is one I’m really rather excited about. It’s a debut novel by Jayne Joso, Soothing Music For Stray Cats (Alcemi), and it came to me one day from a … [Read more...]