This book had me gripped from the opening scene. Kuang's writing is deceptive, because although rich and intelligent, it barrels along at a perfect pace and doesn't feel dense or hard work. She builds her worlds with a lightness of touch, taking you somewhere that you can feel you know your way around very quickly. I just loved it.
This is the book that introduced me to Kuang's writing. It is sinister, funny, dark, sharp, and sad. It unflinchingly explores issues of diversity and privilege within a great story.
I admire Kuang's complex characters and her ability to make us see things from another person's perspective. Whether we like them or agree with them is another matter and that's interesting in itself.
The No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller from literary sensation R.F. Kuang
*A Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick*
'Propulsive' SUNDAY TIMES
'Razor-sharp' TIME
'A wild ride' STYLIST
'Darkly comic' GQ
'A riot' PANDORA SYKES
'Hard to put down, harder to forget' STEPHEN KING
Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.
White lies When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.
Dark humour But as evidence threatens June's stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she…
What a beautiful, devastating book. Keegan's writing is so sparse that it leaves nowhere to hide from the raw emotions that it evokes. I have spoken to several people who, like me, also thought at first they were reading a novel set in the more distant past. Discovering that it was set in 1985 made me feel both ignorant and horrified. Keegan writes about Ireland in the 80s and the life of girls in a Magdalene Laundry in a Convent.
The main character Bill is drawn so carefully, and he stays in my head still. As do the other characters, especially Sarah. I don't want to give anything away beyond that - I knew nothing about it when I picked it up. Her writing left me feeling as though I saw it all myself. This book looks small but it is one of the most powerful stories I've read in a long time. You should read it.
"A hypnotic and electrifying Irish tale that transcends country, transcends time." —Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers
Small Things Like These is award-winning author Claire Keegan's landmark new novel, a tale of one man's courage and a remarkable portrait of love and family
It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him…
'This book is a delight. It's a vivid reminder that the world is full of little surprises, momentary little fountains of pleasure and beauty, that could be visible to all of us if we learned to stop and notice as Miranda Keeling does.' Philip Pullman
January: A man walking along Caledonian Road falls over onto the huge roll of bubble wrap he is hugging, perhaps for just this sort of situation.
Inspired by her popular Twitter account, The Year I Stopped to Notice brings together Miranda Keeling's observations of the magic, humour, strangeness and beauty in ordinary life. Through the changing seasons, on city streets and on buses, in parks and cafes, Miranda notices things: moments between friends, the interactions of strangers, children delighting in the world around them, the quiet melancholy of lost items on the pavement.
Accompanied by stunning watercolour illustrations from Luci Power, Miranda's poetic vignettes take us on journeys of discovery and share with us the joy of stopping to notice.
September: On a sweltering, packed rush-hour train, my arm suddenly feels lovely and cool, and I look down to see a shopping bag held by the woman beside me - full of just-bought cartons of milk.
