Books

In our modern age, we have become accustomed to the idea that equality and justice are, if not always in palpable evidence, then at least attainable in some form, however incomplete. No one would argue (apart from some deluded misogynistic men on Twitter of which there are sadly far too Continue Reading

If there’s one “truth” we are told growing up that needs some serious re-examination if we are to have any hope of getting through life with our sanity and emotional good health intact, it’s the idea that there is something inviolable about the good things that happen to us. Were Continue Reading

Every good thing, so the saying goes, must come to an end, driven by a harsh chronological reality which has no place for favouritism, sentimentality or once transcendent power. Whether the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian peninsula is one of those good things is entirely dependent on whether you Continue Reading

Books with quirky premises are always a challenge to execute successfully. Either you don’t make the most of the idea underpinning the narrative and the story falls flat, taking the ascendant expectations of your readers along with it; or, you over-egg the concept and the book ends up feel so Continue Reading

Coming to grips with you really are is a massive rite of passage for most people. (Not everyone; some people choose to remain blissfully unaware of their true selves or repress if they can’t stand the uncomfortable truth of it all.) This is a particular challenge for members of the Continue Reading

You have to hand it to humanity – no matter where we go, or what we accomplish or how grand and impressively expansive we become, we never really relinquish the inherent things that make us human, good and bad. Just how stubbornly we cling to the building blocks of our Continue Reading

There are novels that quite happily skim the surface of the deep well of emotions that make up most people and then there are novels like Sharks in the Time of Saviours, the immersively impressive debut novel from Kawai Strong Washburn, which dive in, hard, deep and long, unafraid it Continue Reading

Life can be tough so it makes sense that there comes a time when we want to hide from it, push it away and create a haven, as much as that is possible, that feels safer, kinder and less reflective of our past. But as Kitty Hawke, the protagonist of Continue Reading

If you’re an inveterate reader, you will be well acquainted with the inestimable pleasure of losing yourself for hour upon hour in a good book. But what if instead of you diving headlong into it, the book, particularly the characters cane rushing out to meet you? That’s exactly what happens Continue Reading

Celebrity is a curious thing. While the near-omnipresence of a famous person suggests we know them intimately and well, know everything about them in fact, the truth is that we really only know what they and their publicity team choose to reveal. It’s a carefully-constructed facade that, if you dig Continue Reading