A man and a woman meet in a city in what is probably Syria and fall in love. Civil war is initially just a distant presence in their lives. But then it all starts to fall apart, and strange doors start opening up, leading out of the country. Nadia and Saeed meet at a class. …
Month: December 2018
Best books of 2018
My request for the best books you read this year had an overwhelming response! Thank you to those of you who sent in their lists. The lists below not only cover a wide range of subjects, but also span centuries, from 2018 to those published hundreds of years ago. Fiction includes fantasy, crime and …
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle: Stuart Turton
Stuart Turton takes the traditional English setting for a whodunit—a country house thrumming with secrets, tensions and fears—and turns it into something completely unexpected. I have read a lot of crime fiction, and this is one of the most original books I’ve come across. Take the way it begins. “I forget everything between footsteps.‘Anna!’ I …
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Einstein’s Dreams: Alan Lightman
This is the first of the reviews of some of my favourite books (see Revisiting Old Favourites). What if time flowed in a different way from the one we know and we are used to? What if it circled in on itself, so we relived our lives endlessly without ever knowing it? What if it …
Talking About Books 