Claire Fuller is a writer and an artist who lives in Winchester, England. Her debut novel, Our Endless Numbered Days, won the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for debut fiction, has been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, nominated for the Edinburgh First Book Award 2015, and was a finalist in the American Booksellers Association... Continue Reading →
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
Swimming Lessons is the second novel by English author Claire Fuller. I was lucky enough to get an advanced reading copy of the book to review for our readers. Swimming Lessons is a story within a story about a passionate but troubled marriage and its aftermath. Ingrid Coleman wrote letters to her husband, Gil, and... Continue Reading →
The Interestings, by Meg Wolitzer
We’re all sticky beaks, at least to a certain extent. I love walking in the evening and being able to see inside other peoples’ houses: not in a creepy, stand under the sill and gawk in kind of way, but just in a glancing, see how people decorate their homes and what they’re up to... Continue Reading →
Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan
A relative of mine once made the rather unfortunate comment that you really don’t need to travel the world, because all you have to do is go to Singapore where they have all the souvenirs you could possibly ever need. In other words, that bottle of 25 year old Laphroaig you nabbed in Scotland recently;... Continue Reading →
The Secret Letters of the Monk who sold his Ferrari, by Robin Sharma
It’s not very often that I give a bad review for a book, except if it’s total rubbish like Fifty Shades or anything by Charles Dickens (see earlier review October 9, 2009). A few years ago, during an election campaign in Australia, one politician said of another politician: “Any man who claims to have a... Continue Reading →
Me and my sisters, by Sinéad Moriarty
I read this book on the recommendation of a patron whose two-word justification: “She’s Irish!” apparently explained everything – meaning that because the author is Irish, this is a really good story, obviously very humorous, as well as heart-rending. I couldn’t not read it. When I first started out I was highly skeptical, as it... Continue Reading →
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – Helen Simonson
Occasionally a book comes along that is simply charming in the portrayal of the human heart, "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand", is just such a book. When Mrs. Ali the owner of the local grocery comes to his door early one morning, she finds Major Pettigrew distressed at having received news that his brother has just... Continue Reading →
The Sheltering Sky, by Paul Bowles
I’m sure you’ve heard it said that Americans are the worst possible tourists – arrogant, condescending, intolerant and just generally obnoxious when set loose outside the confines of the United States. This can obviously apply to tourists from any country: Aussies have a pretty deplorable reputation in South East Asia and I came across an... Continue Reading →
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