Category Archives: 4

September 6, 2026 · 1:32 pm

Transcription – Ben Lerner

Cover of Transcription by Ben Lerner

Everyone was talking about this novel earlier in the year (which I always find a bit off putting), but I needed a new audio book and I decided this was it.

Here’s the blurb …

From the “most talented writer of his generation” (The New York Times), a lightning flash of a novel that is at once a gripping emotional drama and a brilliant examination of the devices, digital and literary, we use to store—or to erase—our memories.

The narrator of Ben Lerner’s new novel has traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, where he is to conduct what will be the final published interview with Thomas, his ninety-year-old mentor and the father of his college friend, Max. Thomas is a giant in the arts who seems to hail “from the future and the past simultaneously” and who “reenchants the air” when he speaks. But the narrator drops his smartphone in the hotel sink. He arrives at Thomas’s house with no recording device, a fact he is mysteriously unable to confess.

What unfolds from this dreamlike circumstance is both the unforgettable story of the triangle formed by Thomas, Max, and the narrator, and a brilliant meditation on those technologies that enrich or impoverish our connection to one another, that store or obliterate memory. Haunted by Kafka (there are echoes of “The Judgement” and “A Hunger Artist”), but utterly contemporary, Lerner combines trenchant insight with lyric mystery. Ultimately, Transcription demonstrates what only a work of fiction can record.

I was quite confused listening to this. I don’t know if it was because I got distracted at an important moment and didn’t listen. I don’t know how we ended up listening to Max.

I did enjoy the narration from a single point of view, the narrator and then Max. I enjoyed Tomas’s ‘lectures’ and the detail of everything – eating disorderes, covid protocols, Switzerland (and who was on the trip). I think I might need to read or listen to it again.

A review.

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September 1, 2026 · 3:26 pm

Clown Town – Mick Herron

Cover of Mick Herron's novel Clown Town

This is number 9 in the Slough House series – I haven’t read many of the halves, but this is the latest full novel. I read eight before seven, but now I think I know the order of the action.

Here’s the blurb …

Old spies grow ridiculous, River. Old spies aren’t much better than clowns.

Or so David Cartwright used to say, but he forgot to add they can be dangerous too, especially if they’ve fallen on hard times – as Diana Taverner learns when the past lands on her desk. An operation carried out during the height of the Troubles laid bare the ugly side of state security, and those involved are threatening to expose details. But every threat hides an opportunity, and the would-be blackmailer is soon being used as Taverner’s solution to a much newer problem. 

The O.B. himself is long buried, and has left his library to the Spooks’ College, where it turns out that one of the books has gone missing. Or perhaps never existed . . . River Cartwright has time to kill while waiting to be passed fit for work, and investigating the secrets his grandfather’s library hid seems a harmless activity. But nothing involving the slow horses stays harmless for long. 

Louisa Guy is pondering her future, but before making any big decisions, she might as well check River’s not about to come a cropper. Shirley Dander is wondering if the new kid, Ash Khan, is as annoying as she seems. Roddy Ho wants the team to know that his tattoo is a hummingbird, and not, as Lech Wicinski claims, a platypus. And Catherine Standish just wants everyone to play nice. 

As far as Lamb’s concerned, they should all be at their desks – when Taverner starts plotting mischief people get hurt, and Lamb has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. 

But they’re his clowns. And if they don’t all come home, there’ll be a reckoning. 

Do not mess with one of Lamb’s Joes. Slough House is working on reduced numbers, and that is only going to get worse. No one has ‘plot armour’ in Herron’s novels.

I love the way he writes, particularly his metaphors and similes. His plots are ingenious as well. I always like to spend a bit of time with the slow horses.

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August 24, 2026 · 9:41 am

The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion (Vol 1) – Beth Brower

f Emma M Lion

I pre-ordered this novel (on Kobo) and then I received an email telling me I could download it, but no I couldn’t. Then I got a surly email from Booktopia informing that it wasn’t available yet. So eventually it arrived.

Here’s the blurb …

“I’ve arrived in London without incident. There are few triumphs in my recent life, but I count this as one. My existence of the last three years has been nothing but incident.”The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

This is a series of journal entries set in the late 1800s. It does feel quite authentic and Emma is a charming character.

Here she is describing how she wants to live to her banker.

I simply wish to keep myself in London, in Lapis Lazuli House, and buy books. I have considered owning a cat, but I believe that expense won’t put mw out in the streets just yet.

This is a short, quick to read, and charming novella. I will definitely move onto Volume 2 (I want to know about the tenant in Lapis Lazuli Minor – is there going to be romance?)

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August 20, 2026 · 10:51 am

The Odyssey – Homer (Translated by Emily Wilson)

Cover of The Odyssey by Homer - translated by Emily Wilson

Obviously I had to read this after seeing the latest film, which was visually spectacular, but, to me, felt like ‘a boy’s own adventure’. I selected this version because it was translated by a woman, and I chose an audible version because I thought it would be easier to listen to it than read it myself.

Here’s the blurb …

Acclaimed actress Claire Danes burnishes an epic story of heroes, gods, and monsters in a groundbreaking translation of The Odyssey, the first great adventure story in the Western literary tradition. When the wily warrior-king Odysseus sets off for home after the Trojan War, he doesn’t realize this simple undertaking will become a perilous journey of 10 years. Beset at every turn, he encounters obstacles, detours, and temptations—both supernatural and human—while his wife Penelope fends off would-be suitors desperate to take the throne.

Emily Wilson is the first woman to take on the daunting task of translating over 100,000 lines of a three-millennium-old poem from Ancient Greek to modern-day English. Her breathtaking rendition captures the poetic immediacy of the original text, while allowing listeners to experience The Odyssey with an honesty and directness few other versions have achieved. The result is a lean, fleet-footed translation that recaptures Homer’s “nimble gallop” and brings an ancient epic to new life. A fascinating introduction provides an informative overview of the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the major themes of the poem, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. 

I enjoyed it. The introduction was extremely informative – it gave me information about the time, location, social history of its creation. It’s a beautiful translation with many mentions of ‘rosy fingered dawn’ and ‘the wine dark seas’. Not to mention all of the weaving of purple cloth, putting sandals on well-oiled feet and a lot of weeping. There is a lovely flow and rhythm to it, and Claire Danes is a fabulous narrator.

I can see now that Nolan removed most of the women’s agency from the film. In my opinion Athena is the architect of everything. She transforms herself into various characters, makes Odysseus look old, handsome and virile, and even taller as required. She convinces Zeus to force Calypso to let Odysseus go – none of that is apparent in the film.

I am going to be one of those people who say ‘the book is better than the film’. However, would I have read it if I hadn’t seen the film? No, so Nolan is bringing new people to the book.

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July 15, 2026 · 2:43 pm

Meet Me At The Museum – Anne Youngson

Meet Me At The Museum – Anne Youngson

I started this book so many times. I bought it as a kobo and I would start to read it whenever I was out and about with only my phone. I finally dedicated some time to it while I was on holiday.

Here’s the blurb …

Please be aware I am writing to you to make sense of myself …

When the curator of a Danish museum responds to a query about ancient exhibits, he doesn’t expect a reply.

When Tina Hopgood first wrote it, nor did she …

Professor Anders Larsen, an urbane man of facts, has lost his wife, along with his hopes and dreams for the future. He does not know that a query from a Mrs Tina Hopgood about a world-famous antiquity in his museum is about to alter the course of his life.

Oceans apart, an unexpected correspondence flourishes as they discover shared passions: for history and nature; for useless objects left behind by loved ones; for the ancient and modern world, what is lost in time, what is gained and what has stayed the same. Through intimate stories of joy, anguish, and discovery, each one bares their soul to the other. But when Tina’s letters suddenly cease, Anders is thrown into despair. Can this unlikely friendship survive?

This is an epistolary novel, which I always enjoy. It is a series of letters between Tina and Anders in which they share parts of their lives and (maybe) fall in love. The novel starts with them noticing the differences between where they live and the lives they lead, but then they start to offer each other advice and they both begin to pay attention to their surroundings and the people in their lives. It’s about choices and the sacrifices required by those choices, but it is also about making new choices and changing direction.

There is a lovely metaphor about walking along picking raspberries and then looking back and seeing how many raspberries you didn’t see the first time, but you can walk in the opposite direction and pick the ones you miss.

The writing is beautiful – gentle and thoughtful.

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July 12, 2026 · 2:36 pm

Miss Benson’s Beetle – Rachel Joyce

Miss Benson’s Beetle – Rachel Joyce

I bought this in January 2025 (because I loved the title) and finally decided to read it.

Here’s the blurb …

It is 1950. In a devastating moment of clarity, Margery Benson abandons her dead-end job and advertises for an assistant to accompany her on an expedition. She is going to travel to the other side of the world to search for a beetle that may or may not exist.

Enid Pretty, in her unlikely pink travel suit, is not the companion Margery had in mind. And yet together they will be drawn into an adventure that will exceed every expectation. They will risk everything, break all the rules, and at the top of a red mountain, discover their best selves.

This is a story that is less about what can be found than the belief it might be found; it is an intoxicating adventure story but it is also about what it means to be a woman and a tender exploration of a friendship that defies all boundaries.

This is a ‘girls’ own adventure’ for two incredibly unlikely explorers (or entomologists). The dialogue between Margery and Enid is brilliant. The descriptions of the places and the people are also excellent (and occasionally very funny, for example, the description of the Friday coffee and craft morning among the British wives in New Caledonia)

[…] and share an activity, though the knitted space rockets for the local orphanage, their last project, had turned out looking like woolly condoms, and the women had been a laughing stock.

And there are some lovely thoughts, Enid to Margery

‘We are not the things that happen to us. We can be what we like’

This is a beautifully written, witty story about friendship and resilience.

A review

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June 15, 2026 · 11:15 am

Mrs Osmond – John Banville

Mrs Osmond – John Banville

Is that not a great cover? This is a continuation of Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady. I read Portrait of a Lady years ago – I think it’s my favourite Henry James novel – so this sounded intriguing. I was always disappointed that Isabel married Gilbert Osmond.

Here’s the blurb …

Isabel Archer is a young American woman, swept off to Europe in the late nineteenth century by an aunt who hopes to round out the impetuous but naive girl’s experience of the world. When Isabel comes into a large, unexpected inheritance, she is finagled into a marriage with the charming, penniless, and–as Isabel finds out too late–cruel and deceitful Gilbert Osmond, whose connection to a certain Madame Merle is suspiciously intimate. On a trip to England to visit her cousin Ralph Touchett on his deathbed, Isabel is offered a chance to free herself from the marriage, but nonetheless chooses to return to Italy. Banville follows James’s story line to this point, but Mrs. Osmond is thoroughly Banville’s own: the narrative inventiveness; the lyrical precision and surprise of his language; the layers of emotional and psychological intensity; the subtle, dark humor. And when Isabel arrives in Italy–along with someone else –the novel takes off in directions that James himself would be thrilled to follow.

As I wrote earlier, it has been a while since I read anything by James, but the prose style of this novel feels Jamesian. We have the old characters; Madame Merle, Pansy, Aunt Lydia, Ralph Touchett (just in passing), and Henrietta Stackpole. The settings range from London, Paris, Florence and Rome – quite the Grand Tour.

No spoilers, but I was happy with how this ended.

I do think you need to have read A Portrait of a Lady before tackling this one, but, if you have, then I highly recommend this one.

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June 1, 2026 · 12:33 pm

The Things We Never Say – Elizabeth Strout

The Things we Never Say – Elizabeth Strout

I love Elizabeth Strout novels – my favourite is Olive Kitteridge, so I pre-ordered this one.

Here’s the blurb …

Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbours, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: how is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?
 
 And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.
 
 With exquisite prose and profound insight, Elizabeth Strout captures the way grief reverberates through decades, the comfort found in deep friendships and the freedom that comes when we break free of our secrets. The Things We Never Say is a stunning new novel from one of our most acclaimed observers of the human heart.

Artie is a good guy in a world gone mad – the election is looming in the US, is it possible that ‘that man’ will be re-elected? He thinks he wants to be gone, but not in a way that would be distressing for others. Then there is a boating incident and he realises that he, in fact, wants to live (this is not the secret). He has a profound impact on two of his students, and develops a relationship with the man who saved him from drowning, is close to his son, but distant from his wife. He is a good man trying to navigate his way in the world – the new principal chastises him for saying ‘boys and girls’ (it’s demeaning and some might not identify as boy or girl).

The dialogue is fabulous – very natural sounding.

I think it would be nice to get this story again, but from Evie’s point of view. Let’s just say the reader (or this reader) doesn’t warm to her.

A review

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May 30, 2026 · 4:40 pm

Yesteryear – Caro Claire Burke

Yesteryear – Caro Claire Burke

This novel is apparently all the rage at the moment. Anne Hathaway has bought the film rights and I believe it is a TikTok sensation. I listened to it.

Here’s the blurb …

A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.

My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the heir to a political dynasty? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.

Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a ruthless reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible. 

I am fascinated by the traditional wife movement. Does it exist anywhere outside of the United States? And I have often thought that those perfect online lives must hide mess and mayhem.

Natalie is not a sympathetic character and a very unreliable narrator. Just like her posts on social media she is telling us a different story. She moves from an amateur doing everything herself to having two nannies, a producer, and multiple farm workers (all kept hidden from the cameras). All appears well in her world until her husband has an affair with the producer. There is an altercation – she can bring them down with her knowledge of behind the scenes.

Natalie then finds her self back in 1855 and finds life without hidden modern conveniences is very unpleasant. How does she end up back in 1855? Is it time travel?, a reality TV show, is she mad?, in a coma? From this point the narrative shifts backwards and forwards between the past and present day Yesteryear Ranch. How it is resolved is very good – in my opinion, no spoilers.

There is a great review at The Guardian

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May 24, 2026 · 1:39 pm

You Dreamed of Empires – Alvaro Enrigue

You Dreamed of Empires – Alvaro Enrigue

The theme for my ‘serious’ book club is ‘Translation’. I already had this in my pile, it was recommended in a list somewhere.

Here’s the blurb …

One morning in 1519, conquistador Hernán Cortés entered the floating city of Tenochtitlan – today’s Mexico City. Later that day, he would meet the emperor Moctezuma in a collision of two worlds, two empires, two languages, two possible futures. Cortés was accompanied by his nine captains, his troops, and his two translators: Friar Aguilar, a taciturn, former slave, and Malinalli, a strategic, former princess. Greeted at a ceremonial welcome meal by the steely princess Atotoxli, sister and wife of Moctezuma, the Spanish nearly bungle their entrance to the city. As they await their meeting with Moctezuma – who is at a political, spiritual, and physical crossroads, and relies on hallucinogens to get himself through the day and in quest for any kind of answer from the gods – the Spanish are ensconced in the labyrinthine palace.

Clearly both the Spanish and the Mexicans (Aztecs?) are blood thirsty people. There was human sacrifice, the rending of humans into fat to polish boots, and capital punishments (‘Take yourself to the palace guards and tell them to kill you privately’). There wasn’t a sympathetic character – except, maybe, Atotoxli, or Caldera.

The settings were magnificent, and the characterisations were great – the conversations with everyone trying not to say anything or saying the truth but with a double meaning

As the emperor bade him farewell, still in Greek, he said he’d been told that Cortés had been to the temple with his men and it hadn’t gone well; just now he was busy with the Tlaxcalteca in Iztapalapa and the Texcoca in the middle of a civil war, but in two or three days they would go together to the temple so that Cortés could see the house of the emperor’s gods and the Caxtilteca would be treated as his guests deserved.

And what do they deserve?

It has a very fable, mythic feel to it. And the ending with the hallucinogens, what’s true what’s not? Is there a blue person?

And I researched the different characters and Tenochtitlan, so I feel that I have learnt something as well.

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