The Nonesuch - Georgette Heyer

55%

17.06.25

The only memorable thing about this middling Heyer was its excellent use of The Tiffany Effect (even if it is a nickname for Theophania).

All Our Hidden Gifts - Caroline O'Donoghue

 55%

29.06.24

The ideas were interesting but it felt a little underdeveloped and messy without a clear structure or narrative drive. Its attempts to cover some serious themes seemed forced and worthy rather than naturally integrated into the story. All in all, it read like a promising early draft that needed some more editorial intervention. 

(And an accidental second Irish book in a row - very different to the previous one.)

Factory Girls - Michelle Gallen

 55%

15.10.23

This won a prize for being funny but I didn't find any jokes amongst the misery of living with death and the threat of death in '90s small-town Northern Ireland. There also wasn't much of a plot. Which was a shame, because the protagonist was exactly the same age as me but I couldn't identify with her at all. The many inaccuracies about the Oxbridge entrance process at that time were also annoying - it was a small thing but noticing the errors ruined the immersion and veracity of what was otherwise a vivid account of a particular culture at a particular time.

A Tidy Ending - Joanna Cannon

55%

18.08.23

I started this a couple of times and didn't get too far but this time I focused on getting through it. I've previously found Cannon's prose too flowery and her plots too heavy handed and this was no exception. And I'm all for unreliable and even unsympathetic narrators but it was very difficult to root for this one. That said, the observational comedy was sharp and the awkward Britishness well captured.

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert’s Year of Living Dangerously - Jessica Pan

 55%

22.03.23

For some reason, my extrovert friends are horrified when I tell them I'm an introvert, as if it's something bad. The introvert author of this book seems to agree with them and decided to act (sometimes literally act) like an extrovert for a year. I found it quite hard to relate to - even the title seemed odd, as I'd never dream of being late for anything. And I wasn't sure why it involved doing things that many extroverts wouldn't want to do either, such as stand-up comedy and talking about Deep Feelings at inappropriate moments. But it was a readable slice of life, I suppose. 

Platform Seven - Louise Doughty

 

55%

17.11.22

A ghost who can't communicate or interact - what an unusual idea. Well, there's a reason for that. A protagonist with no agency doesn't make for a great story, and so it depended on rather drawn-out flashbacks to her life. There were some other promising ideas here too but overall it was far too slow, over-researched and unnecessarily complicated for them to be fully explored. And at the end it seemed that (spoiler!) there was no link between the two deaths after all. Another draft needed! 

I did like it being set in Peterborough, though - an underrated city I'm vaguely familiar with.

Diary of a Somebody - Brian Bilston

 

55%

02.12.21

I hadn't realised that the clever and incisive humorous poet Brian Bilston is not technically a real person. Whoever he is, he needs to stick to writing clever and incisive poems and forget the novel writing. This homage to Adrian Mole (an equally hapless Brian Bilston aged 45 and three quarters) wasn't particularly successful. But his poems are truly fabulous so he gets marks for those.

A Town Called Solace - Mary Lawson

 55%

31.10.21

This was Booker longlisted but I'm not sure why. It's like a slightly more complex (and rather more Canadian) Anne Tyler novel without as much charm and humour. Why 1972? Why certain characters? Why those particular narrative choices? It's fine but ultimately unmemorable.

The Fine Art of Invisible Detection - Robert Goddard

 

55%

21.06.21

Goddard must have read my review of Into the Blue, as this recent 'thriller' replaces the middle-aged white male main character with a middle-aged Japanese female main character. Who was really only differentiated from all the middle-aged white male secondary characters by her clipped way of speaking and no-nonsense manner. Because she's, like, Japanese, you know. But it was much more tedious than you'd expect of a globe-trotting detective adventure.

Just For One Day - Louise Wener

55%
16.05.20

I imagine the target market of Britpop fans is quite specific, but it includes me. I saw Sleeper perform two or maybe three times in the mid-90s so it's fun to go behind the scenes in this memoir. But it's not as enlightening as I hoped. There was a little gossip (probably within legal boundaries) but I'd have liked to know more about the mechanics of writing a song or making a video or planning a tour.

Recipe for a Perfect Wife - Karma Brown

55%
28.04.20

I don't really know what to make of this. On the one hand, it was an appealing two-day read with an interesting premise. On the other, the story depended on the protagonists' unrealistically irrational behaviour. Why do contemporary novels feature such unlikable women with whom we are expected to empathise? The ending of both narratives was decidedly iffy and heavy-handed. And, of course, it needed a decent edit, but what book doesn't these days?

The Obesity Code - Dr Jason Fung

55%
24.09.17

This influential book can be summed up as 'Eating increases insulin, which makes you gain weight, so try fasting'. While I'm interested in the theory, some of the science quoted seems contradictory, and there's, surprisingly, no mention of the triggering/psychological aspects of not eating. At least it makes me want to do some more research.

The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton

55%
14.05.17

There were plenty of houses but there wasn't much mirth. The style itself is hardgoing these days, and the self-sabotaging heroine so much the product of another time that is was hard to sympathise with her plight. Still, it's one of those classics that I can now drop into conversation when I next find myself discussing the commodification of women in early 20th century America.

The Loney - Andrew Michael Hurley

55%
04.06.16

With great hype comes great disappointment and this follows that well-trodden path (across the abandoned beaches and into the twisted local community, fanned with the poisoned winds of misplaced religious fervour). No discernible terror, very little drama and, of course, a frustratingly vague resolution. Hmm. Did I miss something?

Great cover, though.

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour - Joshua Ferris

55%
21.01.15

Reviews tend to point out that 'Then We Came to the End' was pretty good but this newer novel is so weird and unfocused that it's unclear why it's been nominated for so many awards. Well, you know I like to be contrary but I can't argue with that.

Silas Marner - George Eliot

55%
22.11.14

Despite my degree in English Literature, I've managed to avoid Eliot's novels up till now - although we did seem to spend 3 or 4 tutorials analysing the first page of Middlemarch. This was so instantly forgettable that I almost forgot to review it. Not as deep as people think it is.

The Universe versus Alex Woods - Gavin Extence

55%
09.10.14

There's a fine line to be balanced when writing one of these ubiquitous 'young man lacking social skills has emotional adventure' novels. Some, like The Shock of the Fall, judge it perfectly. Others, like this one, just end up being tedious. I sobbed away earlier in the evening while reading a Jacqueline Wilson book to my daughter but this left me entirely unmoved.

Expo 58 - Jonathan Coe

55%
07.08.14

I've never really got on with Jonathan Coe's arch, faux-documentary style but this sounded promising enough for me to reserve it at the library. But I didn't really get on with its arch, faux-documentary style. Was it a satire? Was it a thriller? Was it simply a humorous book with occasional serious slants? Fine for a summer read.

The Vet's Daughter - Barbara Comyns

55%
12.07.14

Another tightly written forgotten classic in Sarah Waters' top 10. Again, the influence is pretty clear in its strangeness and unexpected twists. But it was also somehow unmemorable, perhaps because it was hard to puzzle out the significance of certain parts of the story, especially in light of the ending.

You Don't Have to be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps - Tom Holt

55%
11.08.13

My husband tells me that Tom Holt is beloved of teenage boys who have graduated from Terry Pratchett. I've not read much Pratchett either but I imagine it's funnier and more memorable than this, though I do grudgingly admire the ingenuity of the convoluted plot. Looks like I last read a Holt novel 10 years ago and advised myself not to try his fantasy novels. Oh well.