ShinyNewBooks

Brick Dust by Craig Jordan-Baker Review by Rob Spence When I started reading this quirkily entertaining novel, I was reminded of a remarkable Turkish film I saw some years ago. The film, 10 to 11, written and directed by Peli

Shiny Thursday: @spencro.bsky.social reviews Brick Dust by Craig Jordan-Baker @epoquepress.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/brick-dust-b...

Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark by Frances Wilson Reviewed by Harriet It has always been my intention to practice the arts of pretence and counterfeit on the reader. So wrote Muriel Spark in an unpublished Author’s Note to The Prime of

Shiny Ed Harriet reviews The Enigma of Muriel Spark by Frances Wilson @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/electric-spa...

And I've now got a copy after posting your review! (Shiny Ed @annabookbel.bsky.social )

Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson Review by Max Dunbar A Wrong in Time At a literary festival in 1993 Thom Graves watches an author being interviewed. It's slow going: Toward the end of the hourlong interview the discus

On a Sweltering Shiny Tuesday: @maxdunbar1.bsky.social reviews Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson @faberbooks.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/kill-your-da...

Thirst: In search of freshwater – Wellcome Collection 2025, ed. Ellen Johl Review by Peter Reason This slender collection of writing around the theme of freshwater is published by the Wellcome Collection to accompany its current exhibition of the same name, which ‘

It's a damp Shiny Tuesday - somewhat apposite for today's review by @peterreason.bsky.social of Thirst: In search of freshwater, ed Ellen Johl, foreword by
‪@robgmacfarlane.bsky.social‬ to go with the latest exhibition from the @wellcomecollection.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/thirst-in-se...

The Penguin Maigret Capsule Collection – Maigret’s Holiday and Maigret’s Pickpocket – by Georges Simenon Review by Annabel Starting back in 2013, Penguin began reissuing the novels of Georges Simenon in new or recent translations with distinctive photographic details on the covers. All 75 Maigrets ar

Shiny #TranslationThursday -
@annabookbel.bsky.social reviews two volumes from Penguin's new Maigret Capsule Collection shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-penguin-...

Barbara isn’t Dying by Alina Bronsky Translated by Tim Mohr Review by Annabel The main theme of this novel is not new, but Bronsky has such a refreshing take on it that I couldn’t help but devour it from the first page. It o

Shiny #TranslationThursday and @annabookbel.bsky.social reviews Barbara isn't Dying by Alina Bronsky, trans. @timmohr.bsky.social from @europaeditions.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/barbara-isnt...

Universality by Natasha Brown Review by Annabel It's been a four-year wait for this, Natasha Brown's second novel. Her first, Assembly, was stunning, winning many plaudits. It's a moving and beautifully written novella tol

Today at Shiny, @annabookbel.bsky.social reviews Universality by Natasha Brown @faberbooks.bsky.social lhttps://shinynewbooks.co.uk/universality-by-natasha-brown

Bird School: A beginner in the wood by Adam Nicolson Review by Peter Reason ‘The first time I met a bird close-up, it was dead. A raven.’ From this grab-your-attention first line and the evocative description of this encounter, I am ho

Shiny Tuesday: @peterreason.bsky.social reviews Bird School by Adam Nicolson. 'Throughout, the writing is gorgeous – elegant yet unfussy, richly descriptive without over-doing it, ' shinynewbooks.co.uk/bird-school-...

Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane Review by Peter Reason It is very unlikely that many readers of Shiny New Books have missed Robert Macfarlane’s new book. It has been reviewed in most of the major periodicals; chosen as ‘

Is a River Alive? @peterreason reviews Robert Macfarlane pub Hamish Hamilton. shinynewbooks.co.uk/is-a-river-a...

Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers Toward Truth, Healing, and Repair, by Hilary Giovale Review by Liz Dexter I was immersed in a white settler myth that had always allowed me to perceive them [her ancestors] as innocent bystanders rather than oppressors. I’ve been interest

New post: @lyzzybee.bsky.social reviews Becoming a Good Relative by Hilary Giovale shinynewbooks.co.uk/becoming-a-g...

Emile Zola: Writing Modern Life by Rachel Bowlby Reviewed by Karen Langley The My Reading series from Oxford University Press takes as its premise that the best book recommendations come from someone who cares for the work in question; books

Shiny Tuesday: @kaggsy59.bsky.social reviews Emile Zola: Writing Modern Life by Rachel Bowlby pub @oupacademic.bsky.social in their 'My Reading' series shinynewbooks.co.uk/emile-zola-w...

The Brittle Age, by Donatella Di Pietrantonio Translated by Ann Goldstein Review by Rob Spence In the mountainous rural region of Abruzzo, a local community is blighted by an event of brutal savagery. Thirty years later, its effects ar

Shiny #TranslationThursday: @spencro.bsky.social reviews The Brittle Age by Donatella Di Pietrantonio, translated by Ann Goldstein pub @europaeditions.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-brittle-...

When William Came, by Saki Review by Helen Parry Suppose Germany and Britain went to war and Britain lost and was absorbed into the German empire? What would British people do? What would you do? This is the basis of Sa

Shiny Tuesday: @hejparry.bsky.social reviews When William Came by Saki in a new reprint from @mikewalmer.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/when-william...

The Cure by Eve Smith – blog tour My first encounter with Eve Smith was with her second novel, Off Target, in which genetic engineering of children is normal. I very much enjoyed it – spec fiction being my favourite type of g…

On my blog today - my review of another great spec fiction medical thriller from @evesmithauthor.bsky.social @orendabooks.bsky.social annabookbel.net/the-cure-by-...

This Is The Border by Eoin McNamee Review by Max Dunbar There's lots of historical fiction around but generally it doesn't work for me. I feel like the author is bludgeoning you with their research, having worked so hard on it,

Shiny Thursday: Max Dunbar reviews The Bureau by Eoin McNamee shinynewbooks.co.uk/this-is-the-...

The Golden Road by William Dalrymple Reviewed by Harriet India has always had a great attraction for me. I didn’t manage to go there until I was in my thirties, but I’ve visited countless times since then and hope I’ll do s

shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-golden-r...

Nothing Grows by Moonlight by Torborg Nedreaas Translated by Bibbi Lee Review by Karen Langley Recent years have seen a spate of newly translated fictions being made available by Penguin Classics in their ‘Demy’ series; these works

At Shiny today: @kaggsy59.bsky.social reviews Nothing Grows by Moonlight by Torborg Nedreaas, translated by Bibbi Lee, pub Penguin Classics shinynewbooks.co.uk/nothing-grow...

The Dancer and the Dance by Janet Burroway Reviewed by Harriet I had never heard of Janet Burroway until Mike Walmer recently republished her 1965 novel, The Dancer and the Dance. It was the second of her eight novels. Considering that

Shiny Wednesday: Harriet reviews The Dancer and the Dance by Janet Burroway in a new edition from @mikewalmer.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-dancer-a...

Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida Translated by Hayden Trowell Review by Rob Spence Quirky Japanese literature seems to be all the rage these days. Every British bookshop seems well-stocked with Tokyo-based stories about ca

It's a Shiny #TranslationThursday and @spencro.bsky.social reviews Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida pub @europaeditions.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/goodnight-to...

The Last of the Aldinis by George Sand Translated by George Burnham Ives Review by Rob Spence Version 1.0.0 Opposite the title page of this new edition of George Sand’s novel is a list of her works of fiction. It contains 76 no

In a new edition from @mikewalmer.bsky.social books, @spencro reviews The Last of the Aldinis by George Sand. shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-last-of-...

Otherworld: Nine Tales of Wonder and Romance from Medieval Ireland, by Lisa M. Bitel Review by Helen Parry A king’s son pines for a beautiful woman who only he can see. A god’s jealous wife turns a princess into a puddle of water, which grows into a worm, then a scarlet fly, and is…

This week at Shiny, Helen Parry reviewed Otherland: Nine Tales of Wonder and Romance from Medieval Ireland, by Lisa M. Bitel pub OUP. shinynewbooks.co.uk/otherworld-n...

Colette, My Literary Mother by Michèle Roberts Reviewed by Victoria Best, 13 Feb 2025 Colette is, I think, a very special writer. She writes with such beguiling charm, such seductive cleverness that she gets under your skin. To read her is to e…

This week at Shiny: Victoria Best reviewed Colette, My Literary Mother by Michele Roberts pub. OUP shinynewbooks.co.uk/colette-my-l...

Just changed my header pic to show off my Paul Auster collection as #AusterRW25 begins on Monday on my blog.

Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers by Darren Freebury-Jones Reviewed by Harriet, 7 Jan 2025 When I was young, I spent several summers in Stratford-upon-Avon. My parents were working at the theatre there, so I was fortunate to be allowed to sit quietly at th…

Also this week, Shiny Ed Harriet reviewed Shakespeare's Borrowed Feathers by @freeburian.bsky.social from @manchesterup.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/shakespeares...

Pictures on the Wall by Hugo Charteris Review by Rob Spence, 9 Jan 2025 This book, by the strangely neglected author of a number of novels in the fifties and sixties, is another welcome publication from the UK’s northernmost publisher, …

We're back after our Christmas break. This week, @spencro.bsky.social reviews Pictures on the Wall by Hugo Charteris in a new reprint from Michael Walmer Books shinynewbooks.co.uk/pictures-on-...

The Future of Energy by Richard Black Review by Annabel Back in March, Shiny took part in the blogtour for Melville House’s initial books in its ‘Futures’ series. The first books in the series of small format paperbac…

Shiny Monday this week: @annabookbel.bsky.social reviews The Future of Energy by Richard Black pub Melville House UK. shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-future-o...

Completely Kafka by Nicolas Mahler Translated by Alexander Booth Review by Karen Langley 2024 is the centenary of the death of author Franz Kafka and the year has seen a flurry of interest focusing on this. Many publications and tri…

Its #Translationthurs @kaggsy59.bsky.social reviews Completely Kafka by Nicolas Mahler @pushkinpress.bsky.social shinynewbooks.co.uk/completely-k...

Thunderclap: A memoir of art and life & sudden death, by Laura Cumming I am a very critical reader; there are not many books that I unreservedly admire. So it is notable that when I finished reading Thunderclap, I closed the covers, turned to my wife, and said, “This …

Today at Shiny @peterreason.bsky.social reviews Thunderclap by Laura Cumming, new in Vintage paperback. shinynewbooks.co.uk/thunderclap-...

Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence, by Avril Horner Reviewed by Harriet In the back of my mind I was always sure that wonderful things were waiting for me, but I’d got to get through a lot of horrors first. This quotation is from Barbara Comyn’s 194…

Today at Shiny, Harriet reviews Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence by Avril Horner pub Manchester UP.
"I enjoyed this book more than I can say." shinynewbooks.co.uk/barbara-comy...