There was an old story about a king who asked his favourite wizard to create a magic mirror. This mirror didn’t show you your reflection. Instead, it showed you your soul – it showed you who you really were. But the king couldn’t look into the mirror without turning away,… Read more »
Out of sheer curiosity I sorted my Goodreads TBR list (all 106 of them) by descending order based on the average rating. Right at the very bottom was Christos Tsiolkas’ controversial The Slap with a measly 3.11. This did not bode well for my next ARC by the same author… Read more »
Winner of the 2014 Miles Franklin Literary Award This is a mystery, but not that fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller type. All the birds, singing is more a gradual revelation, but leaves you just as hungry for answers as the classic ‘who-dunnits”. I don’t really believe in re-writing the entire synopsis of… Read more »
This novel took me months to read. Not because it was at all boring, but because I felt that I had to savour it. I had to read it in instalments to properly understand it. At times, I did consider giving up, but something always drew me back in. That… Read more »
“Though her life lacked the poignancy of great happiness and acute pain, she believed she had found, in their places, the blessing of solitude.” The premise of this story sounded so promising. A murder. A mystery. A secret. All ingredients for a intriguing and exciting read, yet after reading it… Read more »
“Time doesn’t click on and on at the stroke. It comes and goes in waves and folds like water; it flutters and sifts like dust, rises, billows, falls back on itself.” Tim Winton is a beloved Australian author. I have only read one other novel by him (Breath), and I… Read more »
This is a story about time. How a few seconds can alter lives forever. Byron Hemming is concerned after his friend James tells him that two seconds are going to be added to time. He becomes convinced that this is unnatural and is sure to result in some disastrous consequences…. Read more »
“The mighty and the meek, the rich and the poor, were equal when faced with death: all dabbed their eyes and thought of Bellman & Black.” I felt I was reading two different stories from two different authors throughout this book. At times I was so bored by the language… Read more »
(Winner of the 2012 International Dublin Literary Award) On a dismal winter’s day, somewhere in the midlands, the police discover a decaying corpse in a derelict apartment. This is Robert. And so begins our journey through the underbelly of lower class England. Robert is a raging alcoholic whose wife and… Read more »
“It takes great courage and determination, to keep looking for light in all the darkness of life.” What an absolutely delightful read! If you enjoy heartfelt and uplifting literature with a generous sprinkling of magic on the side, then The House at the End of Hope Street is for you…. Read more »
