โThe Namesโ by Florence Knapp was described as โThe best debut novel in yearsโ by the Sunday Times and โthe most devastating book you will read this yearโ by The Observer. It was a Sunday Times Bestseller, and will break your heart.
Kristin Hannah’s “The Women” is not just a personal journey but a tribute to the true unsung heroes of the Vietnam and, indeed, every war. Frankie is a character we all desperately want to befriend. We journey with her into the unknown… where we discover the true resilience of humanity.
Receiving feedback like this makes you feel like a stink bug under a magnifying glass on a very hot day. One must be honest, but one must also be kind – and remember to remove the magnifying class quickly when you’re done, lest the class finds itself one writer down the following week.
In “Rebecca” we see the darker side of Daphne du Maurier’s self perception, as well as her deep understanding of both the subtleties of English society and the mechanics of fear and desire that we can all relate to.
Harriet Constable was named as one of the ten best new novelists for 2024 by the Guardian for her international best-selling debut, “The Instrumentalist”.
“The Remains of the Day” is subtle and beautiful, best appreciated on the second reading. Kazuo Ishiguro deftly weaves the themes of dignity, honour and heartbreak into a period of history that was wrought with tension and political duality. His masterful use of pacing and structure is invisible to the reader as we are introduced…
My first reading of “The Sun Also Rises” was in the city of Pamploma, at the Festival of San Fermรญn, where the novel is set. I, like the protagonist, was trying to get away from myself.