ROBINNE LEE The Idea of You. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
It’s Flashback Friday: Jessica Stewart reviews Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel of an older woman and a younger man which is getting renewed attention thanks to a film adaptation. Is there a right way to love? In a thousand ways we are told what is acceptable, ethical,...
ESTHER WOOLFSON Corvus: A life with birds. Reviewed by Ann Skea
First published in 2008, Esther Woolfson’s Corvus is part memoir, part natural history, and conveys her fascination with the birds living in her home. As I write, the bird is behind me on her branch. From time to time she mutters, a sound softly bearing the imprint of...
SHIRLEY HAZZARD The Transit of Venus. Reviewed by Catherine Pardey
The recent release of Brigitta Olubas’ biography of Shirley Hazzard has prompted Catherine Pardey to reflect on Hazzard’s 1980 novel The Transit of Venus. After re-reading The Transit of Venus it is always surprising to re-remember it was published in 1980, as it...
DEBORAH LEVY The Cost of Living. Reviewed by Anna Verney
In this month’s Flashback Friday, Anna Verney assesses Deborah Levy’s 2018 memoir The Cost of Living. As readers of South African-born British writer Deborah Levy’s literary fiction will know, it always has an unsettlingly allusive quality. While grounded...
NICK EARLS Wisdom Tree: Five Novellas. Reviewed by Michelle McLaren
This month’s Flashback Friday explores Nick Earl’s entwined Wisdom Tree novellas from 2016: Gotham, Venice, Vancouver, Juneau, and NoHo. The Tolstoy quotation about unhappy families could easily have been the epigraph to every one of the five novellas that...
TONI JORDAN The Fragments. Reviewed by Michelle McLaren
Welcome to Flashback Fridays! This is a new monthly feature where we review books we overlooked when they first appeared. This week, Michelle McLaren discusses Toni Jordan’s 2018 novel of intrigue and literary obsession, The Fragments. All Has an End was Inga...
Recent Posts
LUKE KEMP Goliath’s Curse: The history and future of societal collapse. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck4 December 2025Human history has seen many civilisations rise and fall. Luke Kemp contemplates [ … ]
THOMAS SCHLESSER Mona’s Eyes. Reviewed by Ann Skea3 December 2025Art historian Thomas Schlesser brings 52 artworks to life in this fable-like [ … ]
CLAIRE NORTH Slow Gods. Reviewed by Robert Goodman2 December 2025Claire North’s new novel might be science fiction, but the problems her [ … ]
ERIN HORTLE A Catalogue of Love. Reviewed by Annette Hughes27 November 2025Neika – scientist, surfer, and irresistible protagonist of A Catalogue of Love [ … ]