Five words from the blurb: autism, animal, behaviour, welfare, research I hadn’t heard of Temple Grandin until I started doing research into autism, but it is almost impossible to go to an autism seminar without her name being mentioned several times. Her autism has given her a special insight into the way animals think and [...]
Posts under ‘Genre’
Autofiction by Hitomi Kanehara
Translated from the Japanese by David James Karashima Five words from the blurb: love, disturbed, woman, sinister, meaning I love Japanese fiction and so snapped up this book when I saw it in my local library. The title refers to the practice of writing fictional autobiographies and so it is hard not to think about how [...]
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Five words from the blurb: American, family, murdered, crime, killers In Cold Blood is a modern classic. I’d heard so many positive comments about this true crime book that I was convinced I’d fall in love with it. Unfortunately, although I can see why it played an important role in the development of the genre, I’m afraid [...]
The Great Singapore Penis Panic by Scott Mendelson
Five words from the blurb: Singapore, terrified, penis, psychiatric, hysteria Every year The Bookseller award The Diagram Prize for the oddest book title of the year. I always enjoy looking at the shortlist, but normally just marvel at the variety of bizarre books out there. This year one title on the shortlist stood out and I was intrigued [...]
Every Contact Leaves a Trace by Elanor Dymott
Five words from the blurb: wife, murdered, Oxford, mystery, past Every Contact Leave a Trace is an atmospheric murder mystery set within the grounds of an English University. The book begins with Alex discovering the body of his wife, Rachel, by a lake in Worcester College, Oxford. Access to the college is restricted so only a limited number of people were [...]
A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett Five words from the blurb: childhood, teenage, Norway, father, death Karl Ove Knausgaard is a publishing phenomenon in Norway. His controversial fictional memoir has dominated the best seller lists there for the last three years. The discussions about this book intrigued me and so I made a note of the [...]
