Lucrezia’s husband is planning to murder her – what can she do about it? This book is a compelling dive into the personal and political world of 15th-century Florentine royalty. It’s a fictionalised account of a real troubled marriage, with vividly-drawn characters and relationships. I enjoyed reading it even though I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying.
Continue reading
As usual with Wodehouse, I was chuckling all the way through this book. This is the first Lord Ickenham story I have read. He is a great character, like a haphazardly mischievous version of Jeeves. The many characters get themselves … Continue reading
In Search of Lost Time continues. The narrator is now an adolescent, so this book is largely concerned with his newfound fascination with young ladies. The first half of the book continues on from the last book, featuring Swann and … Continue reading
In a near future dystopia, we live in a panopticon: we’re all under universal surveillance, and computers constantly weigh up everything we say and do. If the algorithms determine that we are likely to commit a crime, we are institutionalised … Continue reading
Parade is quite austere in style, but still packs an emotional and intellectual punch. The book is in four sections; they are connected, with a few characters’ stories intertwined throughout. Among the cast are three artists, all just called “G”. … Continue reading
Which artist is the essence of rock music? Who is the greatest writer of the last hundred years? Are we living in a simulation? These are all interesting questions. This book is about these questions and many more, but mainly … Continue reading
Government-controlled time travel: what could possibly go wrong? The setting is pretty much the modern day, with the addition of time travel: occasional government-controlled time travel, enabling the titular Ministry of Time to research the physiological effects of time travel … Continue reading
I do like a bit of fanciful historical fiction. The narrator finds the titular book, which is unique and strange and possibly magical, and tries to find out about its provenance. The tale goes back to a convict transported to … Continue reading
Most people’s diaries are probably pretty boring to everyone else. (I’m pretty sure mine would be.) But not this one! During an incredibly difficult and stressful two years, Anne Frank chronicles her life cooped up with a bunch of other … Continue reading
This is what happens when a guerrilla gardening collective called Birnam Wood meets an amoral billionaire who is up to no good (typical amoral billionaire stuff). Birnam Wood is set in New Zealand, partly in Auckland, and it’s always exciting … Continue reading