“Hustle” by Will Ferguson (Canada) Book Club Favourite of Season 17 Review Most readers really enjoyed the book finding that, once they got into it, they were hooked and couldn’t put it down. They felt the use of language, with its many colloquialisms, was wonderful and gave them a clear sense of the place and time. Readers thought that the historical and socio-economic elements running … Continue reading Hustle
“Black Mamba Boy” by Nadifa Mohamed (Somalia) Book Club Favourite of Season 16 Review Readers enjoyed this story describing it as somewhat similar to a tale where the hero is faced with many difficulties on his journey, but who also meets lots of kind people along the way. They warmed to the protagonist from the start and enjoyed following him as he grows from a young boy in … Continue reading Black Mamba Boy
“Living in the Maniototo” by Janet Frame (New Zealand) Book Club Favourite of Season 15 Review Readers found this book most interesting both from the point of view of the story as well as the style of writing. They thought that there was an incredible use of language, which required their full attention, and they liked the clever interspersing of poems. Some readers didn’t like … Continue reading Living in the Maniototo
“The Brothers’ Lot” by Kevin Holohan (Ireland) Book Club Favourite of Season 14 Review Readers’ enjoyment of this story was strongly influenced by how close they felt to the subject matter. Some found it a difficult book to read, especially since many of the abuses within church-run institutions in Ireland are still coming to light today. Readers who had the benefit of distance from the … Continue reading The Brothers’ Lot
“Seeing” by José Saramago (Portugal) Book Club Favourite of Season 13 Review Readers really enjoyed this book once they got used to Saramago’s characteristic writing style of long, rambling sentences strewn with commas and little paragraphing. They liked the political theme of a democracy veering towards a totalitarian state and they thought the author had captured the characteristics of the various ministers all too well. … Continue reading Seeing
“Disgrace” by J.M. Coetzee (South Africa) Book Club Favourite of Season 12 Review Although readers found the protagonist highly unappealing and they had difficulty engaging with Lucy and some of the other secondary characters, they enjoyed the book very much, describing it as extremely well written and rich. They felt it was a story with many layers needing a number of readings to fully appreciate … Continue reading Disgrace
“Sightseeing” by Rattawut Lapcharoensap (Thailand) Book Club Favourite of Season 11 Review Readers really liked this collection of short stories from a very young and promising author. They found his style of writing excellent and they felt he managed to give clear and distinct voices to a wide range of characters from different strata of society while at the same time evoking well a sense … Continue reading Sightseeing
“Nervous Conditions” by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe) One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21st century! Book Club Favourite of Season 10 Review From the opening sentence, readers were carried along by the story of Tambu and her family, especially the other female characters in her life, namely her mother, her uncle’s wife Maiguru, her cousin Nyasha and her mother’s younger sister Lucia. … Continue reading Nervous Conditions
Nicola's Book Club 