Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Reviewed by: R. Edwards, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
Small Worlds is the story of Stephen, a young Ghanaian-British man growing up in London. It is the story of his passage from teenager into adulthood and all of the highs and lows, heartbreaks and joys that this entails. Stephen's world is music and dancing and all that he wants in life is to be a musician, but his father has other ideas for his future. There is a very strong theme of music, culture and food through the narrative that really brings the characters to life. Coupled with Azumah Nelsons beautifully poetic writing, the reader is really transported for a while into this 'Small World'. Highly recommended.
Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
Reviewed by: R. Edwards, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
Roman Stories is a collection of contemporary tales set in and around the vibrant city of modern Rome. We are introduced to a colourful collection of characters from every walk of life and every corner of the city. Each story is a small window into the everyday lives of these city dwellers. There are themes of friendship and family, of loneliness and loss, of racism and otherness amongst many others.
But most importantly each story tells us what it means to be human in our modern world.
The Son of Man
Reviewed by: C. Gordon, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
I have seldom felt so unsettled by a novel. This is a searing story of a man unravelling and visiting real horror on his wife and son. You feel that you are being held at arms length from the characters as they are referred to throughout in the third person and the description of a man descending into madness gathers pace throughout the book.
Night Swimmers by Roisin Maguire
Reviewed by: Valerie Mulder, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
Set in a remote coastal village in Ireland, this is a trope one might recognise from other novels: the new arrival in distress whose life is changed by the eccentric local characters. Not the less enjoyable for that, this novel does have some wonderfully drawn and original characters and is a cracking tale - one really does want to know the outcome. Despite a tendency to over write in places - physical characteristics of the main players are perhaps described too often in too much details - nevertheless this is a distinctly Irish voice and one well worth reading.
The Cloisters by Katy Hays
Reviewed by: Valerie Mulder, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
A first novel by an American art historian set in The Cloisters, the medieval art museum in New York. A terrific sense of the atmosphere of a hot New York summer and the smells and sights of the museum and its gardens, experienced by a young researcher into the use of tarot cards in Renaissance European courts. She becomes embroiled in the lives of two other researchers, ultimately ending in disaster. A tale of secrets, the occult and poisonous herbs with a little romance thrown in..
Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook
Reviewed by: G. Shephard, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
What a fascinating story set in the mid 1800's. This fictional tale is rooted in fact: the hunt for Sir John Franklin's lost ship in the Northwest passage. A young girl dressed as a boy sets sail on the Makepeace searching for Franklin. At the time, hangings of both men and women were still popular, and Lizzie Pook's descriptions of life on board and the general squalor of everyday people is sordid and harrowing.
The Final Hours of Muriel Hinchcliffe M.B.E. by Claire Parkin
Reviewed by: G. Shephard, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
A tale of two obsessive, jealous women, born within hours of each other and thrown together by their mothers. Their initial friendship develops into a loathsome codependency, sharing everything... Darkly funny and full of twists. The situation may not end well!
The Bookbinder of Jericho by PipWilliams
Reviewed by: S. H. Hill, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
If you enjoyed Pip Williams' first book - The Dictionary of Lost Words - you will love The Bookbinder of Jericho. Set in 1914 , twins Peggy and Maud work in the Oxford University Press bindery, folding pages. With the onset of war their lives and women's lives in general are set to change forever. This is a story about love, loss and friendship. I enjoyed every word of it.
The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales
Reviewed by: C. Snow, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
The Abyss, the deepest part of the world’s oceans, is the last unexplored wilderness where strange, alien creatures have evolved to survive in an underwater world with no light and scarce nutrients. Human exploitation and sea mining risks destroying creatures yet to be recorded by science that live to many hundreds of years old.
Late Light by Michael Malay
Reviewed by: C. Snow, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
Contemporary nature writing by a young Australian/Indonesian author experiencing the countryside of Southwest England for the first time. As he discovers species new to him, he quickly realises that they are disappearing. Shining a light on a few species, he unveils the ecology of our rivers and landscapes and inspires with his warm and grounded appreciation of the living world.
Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne
Reviewed by: C. Snow, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
An intriguing story of how a young woman turns her life around after being diagnosed a sociopath to become a psychologist helping others like herself. She reveals that many people in fields like the music industry, where influence, fame and money dominate, have this trait. The book would benefit from better editing and being shorter.
Death on the Lusitania by R.L. Graham
Reviewed by: P. Shephard-Mayes, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
Death on the Lusitania is a novel by R.L Graham: a whodunnit in the style of Agatha Christie that weaves fiction with historical fact. A real page-turner that keeps you gripped & entertained, it uses dates & times as headings, leading inexorably to its fatal conclusion. Who dies and who survives?
Black Hole by Kate Brody
Reviewed by: P. Shephard-Mayes, East Gate Bookshop Review Club
The author of Rabbit Hole is Kate Brody - or is it? Even though her photo is on the inside back cover, the publisher's page states that James Ball is the author of this book! Intriguing? Whatever happened to Angie Angstrom? Did her sister's friend Mickey know more than she was letting on? Can you solve the mystery? Having some knowledge of text messaging might be useful, and if you don't mind American English then this book might be for you.