If you happen to be in Cambridge between now and the end of the summer, don’t miss the University Library’s exhibition about 20th century crime fiction with artefacts and first editions from the likes of Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and Wilkie Collins. Crime fiction is by far the most popular form of fiction in … Continue reading “Murder by the Book”
The American novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy, passed away on Tuesday 13 June, in Santa Fe, New Mexico (U.S.A.) at the age of 89. Known for his dark and gripping narratives, McCarthy left an indelible mark on the literary world with his most famous masterpieces, The Road and No Country for Old Men. … Continue reading “Cormac McCarthy : the Road Ends”
Denis Villeneuve’s latest movie, Dune, is one of the most anticipated upcoming films. Dune is an epic space opera film and the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name. The film covers about the first half of the book. An impressive cast Oscar Isaac is Duke Leto and Zendaya is Chani, … Continue reading “Back to the Dune: Denis Villeneuve’s latest movie”
Ireland has a rich literary heritage and is fond of honouring it. On 16 June every year, it is author James Joyce who is remembered, as Joyce fans all over Ireland and the world celebrate Bloomsday in honour of his novel Ulysses. Ulysses, published in 1922, consists of 18 episodes mirroring Homer’s Odyssey and takes … Continue reading “James Joyce and Bloomsday”
May 2020 marks the return of the most popular young adult dystopian series. Suzanne Collins brings us back to Panem with a new book. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a prequel which takes place 64 years before the events the first trilogy. 10 years since Suzanne Collins published the first book in the … Continue reading “Book Notes: Return to the Hunger Games!”
The Goldfinch is a stunning coming-of-age story set in New York, Las Vegas and Amsterdam. Donna Tartt’s 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has been adapted for the screen. The story centres on Theo Decker, 13 when the book opens. His reasonably settled teenage life living with his mother is torn apart in seconds. During a visit … Continue reading “Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” on Screen”
The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize, Britain’s most prestigious prize for fiction, honours three Brits, two Americans and a Canadian. The winner will be announced on 16 October. It will be a hard task for the five judges to choose between six very different books. Last year’s winner Lincoln in Bardo was extremely … Continue reading “The 2018 Man Booker Prize Shortlist”
Philip Roth, one of the most admired American novelists, has died at the age of 85. In more than 30 novels, Roth fascinated and scandalised his home country. Roth won accolades for his work from the outset, winning the National Book Award for his first book, the collection of short stories Goodbye Columbus (1959). The … Continue reading “Novelist Philip Roth Dies”
As the latest film adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic Murder on the Orient Express hits our screens, Alison Bouhmid investigates women thriller-writers’ works, spanning a century of mystery writing. It is undeniable that British women writers have consistently been attracted to and excelled in detective fiction (though the genre was invented by a man, … Continue reading “Murder in the Bookshops”
The 2017 Man Booker Prize, the UK’s most prestigious literary award, has been awarded to a first novel by American short-story writer George Saunders for Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders is a veteran author but up till now he has specialised in short stories – Time magazine declared him the best short-story writer alive today. … Continue reading “Experimental Novel about Abraham Lincoln Wins 2017 Booker Prize”