It’s a neat little ritual, thinking about the best books I’ve read over the last year. It’s also hard to whittle it down to a manageable list. It’s also hard to remember what I’ve read half the time. With that in mind, perhaps the list then writes itself – if I can remember it, then
An unsettling novel which taps into a range of human emotions, The Complex is a surprisingly thrilling book. Analysing the darker side of technology is a popular novel theme, however The Complex doesn’t ever feel tired or repetitive; instead, it manages to hand over a great deal of trust to the reader, finishing with an
‘Melting Point’ is an odd collection, to say the least. Though here, ‘odd’ isn’t to be taken as a negative, rather, what makes ‘Melting Point’ so strangely enjoyable is its oddities – it’s whispered moments of surrealism and shouted moments of the humorous absurd. Magarian is a lyrical author, who fuses and blends his prose
Fraser’s debut, ‘The South Westerlies’, a collection of 18 short stories set mostly in and around Gower, South Wales, is rife and woven with careful detail and design. I could ramble and try to find a multitude of words to describe it, but ultimately, the collection is a joy to read for all those who
A piece of experimental fiction which thankfully doesn’t lose sight of itself, Good Day? is an accomplished novel that explores obsession, desire, and human interaction. Our nameless narrators, a female Writer and her opinionated reader husband, expose themselves and the cracks in their relationship while they analyse a work of fiction and lose themselves in
When you think of the high-level pitch of Trevor Mark Thomas’s The Bothy – having to seek refuge in a rural Yorkshire pub frequented by odd people with dark secrets – you could be forgiven for conjuring up an image of the Slaughtered Lamb in An American Werewolf in London. A deeply hostile welcome, Brian
