It’s been a couple of weeks since Issue 3 of Shiny New Books went live, so I thought I’d highlight the other fiction reviews I wrote for it to you – I hope you’ll click through to read the whole pieces…
At the moment, we’re busy putting together our Christmas special which will be out at the beginning of December – It’s beginning to feel a bit like Christmas – I’ve started my Christmas shopping (late for me actually).
But back to those books…
Man At The Helm by Nina Stibbe
I reviewed Nina’s wonderful diaries from her time as a nanny here last year, and couldn’t wait to read her first novel.
Man at the Helm is set in the 1970s, a band of children set out to find their newly single mother a new man with hilarious consequences. A real nostalgia trip and very funny too.
Read my Shiny review in full here.
P.S. Ideal Christmas present material!
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The Children Act by Ian McEwan
I saw McEwan talk at the Oxford Literary Festival about this book before it was published, and again couldn’t wait to read it.
While some reviews have been a bit lukewarm, while I acknowledge it’s not his best, I really enjoyed it and that was because of its main protagonist. The judge Fiona Mays is brilliantly written, intelligent, caring and wise, yet she is fallible in her own life.
Read my Shiny review in full here.
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The Confabulist by Steven Galloway
I’ve yet to read Galloway’s critically acclaimed novel The Cellist of Sarajevo, but the premise of The Confabulist was truly right up my street.
I love novels about magicians, and this one features none other than Houdini himself, however it’s Houdini as seen through the eyes of another man who is slowly losing his memory and believes that he was responsible for Houdini’s death – twice!
An elegant and very enjoyable novel about illusions and memory.
Read my Shiny review in full here.
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The Disappearance Boy by Neil Bartlett
As if one novel about magicians wasn’t enough, along comes another – but it’s a very different story.
It’s 1953 and Teddy Brookes is a stage magician in end of the pier variety shows. However he can’t make the lady vanish without the help of a disappearance boy – never seen, but a key part of the illusion.
Enter young Reggie, an orphan, slightly crippled from childhood polio, but dextrous and nimble. Reggie, Sandra – Teddy’s assistant and Mr Brookes make a fascinating trio and in the build-up to Teddy’s Coronation Show special act – it fair crackles between the three of them – what will happen? Told in Barlett’s typical slowburn style this novel is full of suspense and I loved it.
Read my Shiny review in full here.
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Source: Review copies – Thank you to all the publishers.
To explore further on Amazon UK (affiliate link), please click below:
Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe. Pub Aug 2014 by Viking, hardback, 320 pages.
The Children Act by Ian McEwan. Pub Sep 2014 by Jonathan Cape, hardback 224 pages.
The Confabulist by Steven Galloway. Pub Aug 2014 by Atlantic. Trade paperback, 320 pages.
The Disappearance Boy by Neil Bartlett. Pub July 2014 by Bloomsbury Circus, hardback, 288 pages.
