Pittenweem Library reviews

Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (2020)

Helen Macdonald states that her latest book represents a ‘love for the glittering world of non-human life around me’ and that the short essay form can create a ‘fierce, concentrated attention’ that longer works may not achieve.

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The Old Filth trilogy by Jane Gardam

The central character in the Old Filth trilogy (Failed in London, try Hong Kong), Sir Edward Feathers QC, has been compared in the New York Times to ‘the Dickensian pantheon of memorable characters’.

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Mum and Dad, by Joanna Trollope

Joanna Trollope has been writing for over 30 years, is classified as a romantic novelist and admits to being a more social than political writer.

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The Truants, by Kate Weinberg

Kate Weinberg's debut novel, The Truants, appeared to great acclaim – one of the New York Times Book Review's Top Ten Best Crime Novels of 2020

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The Glass Palace, by Amitav Ghosh

This is a historical novel – a dynastic family saga set against a well written, extraordinarily well researched history, principally of Burma. Three countries are involved in the tale: Burma, Malaya and India (the older terminology is used deliberately here). There are three elements. First, the end of the Burmese monarchy and the shameful (?) role of the British in…

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