“In The Town of Babylon, Alejandro Varela, whose educational background is in public health, combines a social scientist’s powers of observation and analysis with a master writer’s
“soars on the strength of language and passion for the ideas [the author] works hard to depict here, so that if you loved The Sympathizer, and you don’t mind the insistent history
“Pankaj Mishra’s new novel is no less stimulating and insightful than anything else he has written, although there’s no tightly hewn plot here—and the drama that matters is internal.”
One of the joys of reading literature is discovering an astute author’s powers of observation and finding these deliciously woven throughout the narrative.
Hidden women abound in all sectors of society, nearly all cultures, and throughout history, threatening powerful, dominant men who fear losing their power and prestige.
“This is Joella’s first novel, and it’s an assured performance, full of nicely observed detail. It may not have a Big Theme, but it has lots and lots of heart.”
Louise Nealon has been, fairly and unfairly, compared to Sally Rooney, and with her first novel, Snowflake, she seems poised for prizes and movie adaptations.
“Medusa’s Ankles opens with a haunting and strangely gentle ghost story (‘A July Ghost’) and ends with a terse contemporary fable about our feckless destruction of the planet (‘Sea