RaveReadings (AU)Personal, political, and poetic ... If you’re anything like me, you don’t need to be sold on Tóibín’s work. If you do need some convincing, A Guest at the Feast, told with Tóibín’s signature humour, erudition, compassion, and acute observation, will do the trick.
Janet Malcolm
PositiveReadingsMalcolm disparages the concept of a linear autobiography... and instead provides only small glimpses into her life, turning, however briefly, her analytical gaze on herself. Admittedly, I wouldn’t recommend this one for new readers of Malcolm. In true journalistic fashion, Malcolm’s writing is more successful when she turns her literary and psychoanalytical eye on another subject. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she tends to be less critical of herself than she is of say, Anna Freud or Ted Hughes ... Nevertheless, diehard fans, myself included, will find it well worth the read.
Namwali Serpell
RaveReadings (AUS)... strangely unclassifiable. In addition to being an elegy, it’s also a mystery novel, a psychological thriller and a portrait of a family falling to pieces. Admittedly, the effect is somewhat jarring. The first half of the novel is pure poetry and emotion as Cee contends with guilt at her role in Wayne’s death and its lingering effects on her family. The second half, told from the perspective of this new Wayne, is a plot-driven thriller, providing more questions than answers. As jarring as this shift in tone and style is, it’s also exciting. Just when you think you know where Serpell is going, she takes you down a different path. Highly recommended.
Ling Ma
RaveReadings (AUS)No one writes quite like Ling Ma, an author who combines the strange and quotidian in surprising, and surprisingly heart-rending, combinations ... just as compelling a mash-up, with stories that feel so personal and real, it’s tempting to read them as autofiction ... The stories in Bliss Montage are beautiful, heartbreaking, absurd and laugh-out-loud funny, all at once. If it feels like I’m rambling in my review, that just goes to show how much Ma’s writing speaks for itself – and refuses to let reviewers speak for it. This blistering collection is highly recommended for readers of Ottessa Moshfegh, Sayaka Murata and Samanta Schweblin.
Elif Batuman
MixedReadings (AU)I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a character who has felt as real to me as Selin, so I was thrilled to have this chance to see her back at Harvard, a little bit older and, hopefully, a little bit wiser ... I wasn’t as compelled by Selin’s story this time around. It seemed to lack a certain je ne sais quoi that Batuman’s debut had for me.
Jennifer Egan
RaveReadings (AU)The Candy House stands on its own, but I would recommend giving yourself the pleasure of reading (or re-reading) Goon Squad first ... As unique, propulsive and readable as ever, Egan has crafted another work with layers of meaning that deserves to be read and re-read for years to come. Egan proved with Goon Squad that she was at the vanguard of the future of fiction. The Candy House shows she isn’t ready to give up that position any time soon.
