“Ripper” by Isabel Allende (Chile) Review From a first novel to a first attempt at a new genre by a well-known writer, this year’s Summer Reading selection of crime fiction covered a wide range of writing styles. “Ripper” is Allende’s first attempt at crime fiction and most readers agreed that she should stick with magic realism. Although they felt that the writing was superior to … Continue reading Ripper
“Apocalypse Next Tuesday” by David Safier (Germany) Review Amusing, hilarious, laugh-out-loud funny – most of the time; irritating and repetitive – some of the time: these were the views of our group of readers, all of whom really did enjoy this book! They found it a light and easy read, and especially liked the first half and the ending. They agreed that the story lagged somewhat in the … Continue reading Apocalypse Next Tuesday
“Tiare” by Célestine Hitiura Vaite (Tahiti) Review Most readers really enjoyed this book finding it an easy read with a light touch and a soft style. At times, they found it funny and at other moments they found the themes the author touched on quite serious. They loved the whole cast of characters especially the grandmothers and all the cousins. Readers liked how the author … Continue reading Tiare
“The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman” by Denis Thériault (Canada) Book Club Favourite of Season 18 Review Readers liked this book despite some of the peculiar things the protagonist does! They found the story flowed well with elements of humour and suspense in it. They enjoyed discovering the haiku and tanka poetry, and after some discussion agreed that the explanations given by the author … Continue reading The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman
“Hour of the Star” by Clarice Lispector (Brazil) Review Challenging, frustrating, meditative and surrealistic were some of the adjectives that readers used to describe this modern classic. They found it difficult to get into and agreed that it needed more than one reading. They called it a thinking book and would not recommend it for escapism. The multi-layered narration was challenging for some readers, who … Continue reading Hour of the Star
“I Am A Japanese Writer” by Dany Laferrière (Haiti) Review The short chapters and choppy style of writing appealed to readers the most. They enjoyed the theme of identity – national, racial and authorial – which they found thought provoking. They liked the irony and found many passages to be very funny, especially the ones relying on clichés to create the humour. Even though they … Continue reading I Am A Japanese Writer
“Expo 58” by Jonathan Coe (UK) Review Members of our Summer Reading Group liked the differences in writing styles and themes of this year’s four shortlisted books finding most of the stories highly enjoyable. At the end of the discussion, when it came time for voting, a majority picked “Expo 58” as their choice for Best Summer Read 2014. “Expo 58” is set in Brussels … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2014 – Expo 58
“We Need New Names” by NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) Review Members of our Summer Reading Group liked the differences in writing styles and themes of this year’s four shortlisted books finding most of the stories highly enjoyable. Nicola has chosen the novel “We Need New Names” as her Coup de Cœur Summer 2014. Set in Harare and Michigan (US) in the present day, readers found the … Continue reading We Need New Names
Nicola's Book Club 