Two girls on a north west London council estate join a community dance class and become friends. We follow their lives as they grow into their teens through their twenties and thirties.
One ends up a single mum living in the council flat she grew up in, the other PA to an international pop star doing Good Works in West Africa.
But, as always, Zadie Smith’s novel is about much more than this.
Author page: Swing Time – Zadie Smith
I ended it in tears, but oh how I did not want this book to end.
Author page: Mayflies – Andrew O’Hagan
Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan review – a bittersweet tale of friendship – Elizabeth Lowry, The Guardian
A smart, sassy female Private Detective. Family. Love. Boy Band Reunions. The crash of the Celtic Tiger. Recession. Depression….. The Mystery of Mercy Close is a not-so-easy easy read. But a good one.
My first Marian Keyes novel, and I think I’ll find time to spend more time with the Walsh Family.
Author page: The Mystery of Mercy Close – Marian Keyes
Alright, but not wow.
One of those books that “I’ve started so I’ll finish” – and I did spend that last third of the book thinking the reveal might relate to Lancelot and Guinevere, rather than simply an allegory of Death.
Publisher page: The Buried Giant – Kazuo Ishiguro
(Possibly also “Historical fiction” and/or “Fantasy & Science fiction”)
The American Dream, 21st Century version.
Excellent.
I always enjoy Barbara Kingsolver novels, even when the theme doesn’t initially appeal. Once I start reading, I’m page turning.
Author page: Unsheltered – Barbara Kingsolver