A Glass of Blessings - Barbara Pym

72%

18.12.25

I hadn't heard of this but it was by far the best Pym novel I've read. The snobbish, judgemental narrator was, oddly, especially engaging and relatable - in fact, it's surprising how much of a 1950s, middle-class, religious housewife's life is still relatable through Pym's witty and perceptive writing. Her relationships with her mother-in-law and, later, her gay friends, were surprisingly positive. Overall: delightful.

We Begin at the End - Chris Whitaker

41%

26.09.25

I wish this really did begin at the end, so I wouldn't have had to force my way through this overlong, overblown, overwritten and under-edited melodrama.

Black Sheep - Rachel Harrison

60%

08.12.24

If you confuse this with the Georgette Heyer novel of the same name, you'll get quite a shock. I'm not generally a horror fan but I enjoyed the way this ramped up from 'disaffected daughter reluctantly returns home' to full-on blood sacrifices before the fires of Hell. The wry tone was well judged and the structure engaging, but what's with the annoying trend for omitting conjunctions and gerunds? ('Julia read the sentence, shouted at her Kindle in frustration. She didn't like it, took her out of immersion.')
 

The Trouble With Mrs Montgomery Hurst - Katie Lumsden

 58%

02.12.24

The trouble with this novel was the uneasy mix of paying homage to Austen/Gaskell and the 21st-century turns of phrase and sensibilities of the characters. It worked best when it interrogated class assumptions, using a light yet skewering humour, and not always taking the easy way out. But the main character was unlikable (and not in the 'Emma' sense) and many conversations and actions were just unconvincing.

Mister Magic - Kiersten White

 57%

23.07.24

"What did I just read?", as the young people like to say. I enjoyed the writing style and the ideas but I had no idea what was going on most of the time. I think that was intentional, to some extent, but it did mean that nuances and any deep messages were lost, considering it was supposed to be a comment on Mormonism. Still, points awarded for offering something different.

The Maid - Nita Prose

 52%

09.03.24

I'm going against the grain here but I didn't find the (neurodiverse?) main character sweet and endearing; I found her distractingly annoying and in need of some proper therapy. It was also pretty dark in places, rather than 'a cosy mystery' (how I hate that phrase), which made the ridiculously happy ending, while not unexpected, rather tacked on. There were surprising layers, but the 'naive narrator' trope was a bit too heavy handed.

I'm Sorry You Feel That Way - Rebecca Wait

 68%

01.09.23

This book is much better than the weird cover image suggests. It's character led - without feeling unfocused - and so sharply observed that it's impossible not to flinch - or to laugh out loud at the awkward humour of dysfunctional families who just want to find some sort of mutual understanding.

(Fleeting and unnecessary mention of the pandemic. This annoys me more and more. It's fiction - there's simply no need!)

Upstairs at the Party - Linda Grant

48%
09.08.20

This self-indulgent novel makes a huge metaphorical meal of an unsympathetic narrator (just for a change) and her boring friends going to university and then leading disappointing lives. I have rather less sympathy for the Boomers here than for the lost Millennials in Queenie, though neither set of characters is particularly likeable.

Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams

56%

05.08.20

The reviews say it's a hilarious award-winning tale of the misadventures of a young black woman. It's actually a depressing account of her sexual and racial abuse and the way society has disempowered not only women like her but a whole generation. As a novel, it's fine but, like the reviews, didn't know what to make of itself.

Followers - Megan Angelo

63%
27.05.20

A oddly compelling account of shallow people leading shallow lives and then sort of, maybe, regretting it. It's a strange mixture of competent, fluid prose and a creaky, US-centric plot.

Emma - Jane Austen

70%
28.03.20

Inspired by the latest, and very lovely, film adaptation, I gave this a re-read and (spoiler!) it's really rather good. The humour and reactions are still recognisable, and it's a masterclass in characterisation that modern authors would do well to study.

Note that I didn't like it much when I last read it, 15 years ago, and, in fact, have no recollection of reading it then at all. The 'anti-feminism' I objected to doesn't bother me as much these days - it's a product of its time, and Emma (as a character) interestingly pushes the boundaries of what a woman in her circumstances was free to do, but is simultaneously trapped by her own snobbery and prejudices.

(It's had some off-putting covers over the years but I think this engaging example captures the spirit of the story.)

Normal People - Sally Rooney

Didn't finish

A couple with no discernible personality traits other than self-absorption have lots of sex. That's it. I was waiting for something to actually happen but in the end I couldn't be bothered to find out if anything ever did.

The Party - Elizabeth Day

60%
25.10.19

On the one hand, it's well written and engaging. On the other, there's something that doesn't quite work - though whether that's the hoary old stalker/friend trope, the slightly wooden characters or rather flat ending, I can't decide.

Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym

52%
22.08.19

I love Barbara Pym and her barbed wit but this, while likeable, was instantly forgettable.

Elijah's Mermaid - Essie Fox

Didn't finish

I was hoping to have a short mermaid season (a short season of  mermaid book reviews, not a season of not-very-tall mermaids - how can you measure their height if they don't stand up?). But this was unreadable so never mind.

Crampton Hodnet - Barbara Pym

64%
19.05.19

Perhaps not one of Pym's best novels, but still arch and wry and perceptive and occasionally laugh-out-loud - and it's amazing how so many self-proclaimed humorous writers aren't any of those things.

Less - Andrew Sean Greer

72%
13.10.18

It would have been so easy to find this book and its hapless, Sterne-inspired hero annoying, for it to have fallen on the side of pretension rather than invention. It could have been trite and predictable - and it very nearly is. But it's not. It's really rather wonderful - funny, sharp, warm, wise and (secretly, subtly) clever and complex.

Standard Deviation - Katherine Heiny

71%
21.08.18

This was fabulous! It immediately appealed in Waterstones, for some reason, and my instincts were good (for once) as it turned out to be unusually funny and quietly rather wise. One for recommending but with the warning that (spoiler about lack of spoilers) it doesn't really end properly; it just serves up a defined slice of life.

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 Portable Veblen - Elizabeth McKenzie

51%
04.03.17

This was billed as funny. It wasn't, particularly, unless you're into unrealistically eccentric characters with tedious hangups and dysfunctional families navigating shoehorned social commentary.