Books in the Media newsletters

Here are the latest Books in the Media newsletters:

Including Kerry Hudson's Lowborn, Jonathan Gibbs' The Large Door, Dorian Lynskey's The Ministry of Truth and more scathing reviews for Jacob Rees-Mogg's The Victorians Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review: 24nd May 2019 Hudson's Lowborn rises high Good afternoon Karen, Kerry Hudson's Lowborn (Chatto and Windus) has been christened with praise from reviewers across the board. The Bookseller's non-fiction previewer Caroline Sanderson made it her Book of the Month, describing it as "a remarkable memoir", while the Sunday Times' Jackie Annesley pronounced it "an insider’s view of the complexities of modern-day poverty, written with humour and compassion, but without judgment". In the Guardian, John Harris praised her "bracing prose and [...] eye for symbolic detail", and Peter Murphy in the Irish Times said, "Here’s hoping it gives others the courage to tell their version of this story, at high volume." Praise also stuck to Sarah Crossan's Toffee (Bloomsbury), with Alex O'Connell in the Times writing, "Crossan always finds humour and humanity in the darkness; it’s impossible not to read it in a single gulp." The Sunday Times' Nicolette Jones also loved it, adding, "This is a compelling and beautifully wrought book about kindness and cruelty, compassion and self-interest, and it lodges deep." Imogen Russell Williams wrote in the Guardian, "Laced with old hurts and small kindnesses, it’s a book that changes its reader for the better." Jeanette Winterson's Frankissstein (Vintage) intrigued and confused the critics, with Daisy Hay in the Financial Times describing the futuristic take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as "a riotous reimagining with an energy and passion all of its own" and the Guardian's Johanna Thomas-Corr praising Winterson's "surge of inventiveness", adding, "It’s fun to be in her company." However, some reviewers felt the title was a little too similar to the monster in the original book—the Sunday Times' Claire Lowdon wrote, "[W]hat sort of a novel is this? Historical, sci-fi, postmodern, or, as it promises on the front cover, a love story? Answer: none of the above. It’s a true Frankenstein’s monster, a hybrid of all of them," and Sarah Ditum in the Literary Review felt the author  "never summons the vital force to turn all this into more than a bag of bits". By Kiera O'Brien, charts editor, The Bookseller Book of the Week Lowborn Kerry Hudson 4.33 out of 5 | 7 reviews "a moving portrait of the survival and eventual flourishing of a remarkable spirit" The Guardian "(a) remarkable memoir" The Bookseller "Hudson’s book is about getting out and going back" Literary Review "The novelist who fled from dire poverty — and what she found when she went back" The Sunday Times Read all reviews Latest Reviews The Large Door Jonathan Gibbs TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "a haunting work, charged with wistful possibilities of what might have been" Financial Times The Victorians Jacob Rees-Mogg 1.20 out of 5 | 5 reviews "What’s most striking about the book is its naivety and simple-mindedness" New Statesman A Woman of No Importance Sonia Purnell 4.25 out of 5 | 6 reviews "This book is as riveting as any thriller, and as hard to put down" The New York Times You Will Be Safe Here Damian Barr 3.75 out of 5 | 7 reviews "(an) eye-opening and meticulously researched novel" The Spectator The Book of Humans: The Story of How We Became Us Adam Rutherford 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "Rutherford’s fascinating examples of unexpected traits we share with fellow creatures" Daily Mail Lost and Wanted Nell Freudenberger 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "Spookiness meets science in a tale of human fallibility" The Times One Hundred Miracles 3.50 out of 5 | 3 reviews "(a) touching memoir" The Spectator High Performance Peter Grimsdale TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "interesting, but flawed" Financial Times The Ministry of Truth Dorian Lynskey 3.75 out of 5 | 3 reviews "Thoroughly researched and wearing its scholarship lightly, The Ministry of Truth is at its best in some of its pop cultural gleanings" The Guardian Best Reviewed This is Shakespeare Emma Smith 4.57 out of 5 | 4 reviews "a brilliantly lighthearted guide to the Bard" The Daily Telegraph Our Man George Packer 4.50 out of 5 | 8 reviews "masterful...both gripping and surprisingly pacey" New Statesman L.E.L. Lucasta Miller 4.38 out of 5 | 10 reviews "(readers) will come away from Miller’s excellent biography understanding why she matters" The Guardian Lowborn Kerry Hudson 4.33 out of 5 | 7 reviews "The novelist who fled from dire poverty — and what she found when she went back" The Sunday Times The Porpoise Mark Haddon 4.08 out of 5 | 8 reviews "a strange but marvellous riff on Shakespeare’s Pericles" The Daily Telegraph Toffee Sarah Crossan 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews " a compelling and beautifully wrought book " The Sunday Times Then It Fell Apart Moby 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "squawk-out-loud funny and unexpectedly lyrical in places" The Guardian What Red Was Rosie Price 4.00 out of 5 | 6 reviews "A brilliantly told tale of class, abuse and familial dysfunction marks the arrival of an exciting new voice in fiction" The Observer The Tunnels Below Nadine Wild-Palmer, Ellen Shi 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "a zippy and captivating read" Book Trust Most Reviewed Cari Mora Thomas Harris 2.89 out of 5 | 11 reviews "Rival gangs vie to dig up $25m of gold in a surprise departure for the Lecter creator" The Sunday Times L.E.L. Lucasta Miller 4.38 out of 5 | 10 reviews "(readers) will come away from Miller’s excellent biography understanding why she matters" The Guardian She-merchants, Buccaneers & Gentlewomen Katie Hickman 3.67 out of 5 | 9 reviews "(a) colourful, witty and elegantly written new perspective on British India" Daily Mail Lowborn Kerry Hudson 4.33 out of 5 | 7 reviews "The novelist who fled from dire poverty — and what she found when she went back" The Sunday Times Our Man George Packer 4.50 out of 5 | 8 reviews "masterful...both gripping and surprisingly pacey" New Statesman The Doll Factory Elizabeth Macneal 3.85 out of 5 | 7 reviews "Emotionally and intellectually engaging, Elizabeth Macneal’s debut is a stunner" Irish Times © 2019 Bookseller Media Ltd.

Including Kerry Hudson's Lowborn, Sarah Crossan's Toffee, Jeanette Winterson's Frankisstein and some scathing early reviews for Jacob Rees-Mogg's The Victorians Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review: 22nd May 2019 Hudson's Lowborn rises high Good afternoon Karen, Kerry Hudson's Lowborn (Chatto and Windus) has been christened with praise from reviewers across the board. The Bookseller's non-fiction previewer Caroline Sanderson made it her Book of the Month, describing it as "a remarkable memoir", while the Sunday Times' Jackie Annesley pronounced it "an insider’s view of the complexities of modern-day poverty, written with humour and compassion, but without judgment". In the Guardian, John Harris praised her "bracing prose and [...] eye for symbolic detail", and Peter Murphy in the Irish Times said, "Here’s hoping it gives others the courage to tell their version of this story, at high volume." Praise also stuck to Sarah Crossan's Toffee (Bloomsbury), with Alex O'Connell in the Times writing, "Crossan always finds humour and humanity in the darkness; it’s impossible not to read it in a single gulp." The Sunday Times' Nicolette Jones also loved it, adding, "This is a compelling and beautifully wrought book about kindness and cruelty, compassion and self-interest, and it lodges deep." Imogen Russell Williams wrote in the Guardian, "Laced with old hurts and small kindnesses, it’s a book that changes its reader for the better." Jeanette Winterson's Frankissstein (Vintage) intrigued and confused the critics, with Daisy Hay in the Financial Times describing the futuristic take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as "a riotous reimagining with an energy and passion all of its own" and the Guardian's Johanna Thomas-Corr praising Winterson's "surge of inventiveness", adding, "It’s fun to be in her company." However, some reviewers felt the title was a little too similar to the monster in the original book—the Sunday Times' Claire Lowdon wrote, "[W]hat sort of a novel is this? Historical, sci-fi, postmodern, or, as it promises on the front cover, a love story? Answer: none of the above. It’s a true Frankenstein’s monster, a hybrid of all of them," and Sarah Ditum in the Literary Review felt the author  "never summons the vital force to turn all this into more than a bag of bits". By Kiera O'Brien, charts editor, The Bookseller Book of the Week Lowborn Kerry Hudson 4.33 out of 5 | 7 reviews "a moving portrait of the survival and eventual flourishing of a remarkable spirit" The Guardian "(a) remarkable memoir" The Bookseller "Hudson’s book is about getting out and going back" Literary Review "The novelist who fled from dire poverty — and what she found when she went back" The Sunday Times Read all reviews Latest Reviews Cari Mora Thomas Harris 2.89 out of 5 | 11 reviews "Rival gangs vie to dig up $25m of gold in a surprise departure for the Lecter creator" The Sunday Times No Win Race Derek A. Bardowell 0.00 out of 5 | 2 reviews "another wake-up call to ensure that no child grows up feeling it wants to bleach its skin" The Observer The Ministry of Truth Dorian Lynskey 3.75 out of 5 | 3 reviews "Thoroughly researched and wearing its scholarship lightly, The Ministry of Truth is at its best in some of its pop cultural gleanings" The Guardian If Not Critical Eric Griffiths, Freya Johnston 4.20 out of 5 | 3 reviews "While Griffiths’s lectures can be chatty, they are also uncompromisingly erudite" London Review of Books Doggerland Ben Smith 3.71 out of 5 | 4 reviews "Two environmentally dystopian visions of a flooded earth" Times Literary Supplement No Win Race Derek A. Bardowell TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "another wake-up call to ensure that no child grows up feeling it wants to bleach its skin" The Observer The Victorians Jacob Rees-Mogg 1.22 out of 5 | 4 reviews "Rees-Mogg gets off to a bad start and never recovers. " The Sunday Times Home Grown Joan Smith 3.25 out of 5 | 4 reviews "The link between domestic abuse and mass murder can no longer be ignored" The Sunday Times Working with Winston Cita Stelzer TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "The female (and one male) secretaries whose organisational skills smoothed Winston Churchill’s path to greatness" The Sunday Times Best Reviewed This is Shakespeare Emma Smith 4.57 out of 5 | 4 reviews "a brilliantly lighthearted guide to the Bard" The Daily Telegraph Our Man George Packer 4.46 out of 5 | 7 reviews "an exploration of American decline that’s heartfelt, virtuosic and quietly thoughtful at the same time" The Daily Telegraph Lowborn Kerry Hudson 4.33 out of 5 | 7 reviews " a memoir that proves there’s nothing glamorous about true poverty" The Daily Telegraph L.E.L. Lucasta Miller 4.17 out of 5 | 8 reviews "a rich mix of literary criticism and impeccable research" The Daily Telegraph The Porpoise Mark Haddon 4.08 out of 5 | 8 reviews "a strange but marvellous riff on Shakespeare’s Pericles" The Daily Telegraph Toffee Sarah Crossan 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews " a compelling and beautifully wrought book " The Sunday Times Then It Fell Apart Moby 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "squawk-out-loud funny and unexpectedly lyrical in places" The Guardian What Red Was Rosie Price 4.00 out of 5 | 6 reviews "A brilliantly told tale of class, abuse and familial dysfunction marks the arrival of an exciting new voice in fiction" The Observer The Tunnels Below Nadine Wild-Palmer, Ellen Shi 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "a zippy and captivating read" Book Trust Most Reviewed Cari Mora Thomas Harris 2.89 out of 5 | 11 reviews "Rival gangs vie to dig up $25m of gold in a surprise departure for the Lecter creator" The Sunday Times L.E.L. Lucasta Miller 4.17 out of 5 | 8 reviews "a rich mix of literary criticism and impeccable research" The Daily Telegraph She-merchants, Buccaneers & Gentlewomen Katie Hickman 3.62 out of 5 | 8 reviews "Hickman has a real talent for recounting the stories of individual people with sympathy, clarity and verve" The Guardian Lowborn Kerry Hudson 4.33 out of 5 | 7 reviews " a memoir that proves there’s nothing glamorous about true poverty" The Daily Telegraph Our Man George Packer 4.46 out of 5 | 7 reviews "an exploration of American decline that’s heartfelt, virtuosic and quietly thoughtful at the same time" The Daily Telegraph The Doll Factory Elizabeth Macneal 3.85 out of 5 | 7 reviews "Emotionally and intellectually engaging, Elizabeth Macneal’s debut is a stunner" Irish Times © 2019 Bookseller Media Ltd.

Including Robert Macfarlane's Underland, Toby Faber's Faber & Faber, Andrea Lawlor's Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl and many, many more... Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review 7th May 2019 Robert Macfarlane's Underland charms the critics Good afternoon Karen, Acclaimed nature writer Robert Macfarlane charmed the critics this week with his latest offering, Underland: A Deep Time Journey (Hamish Hamilton), dubbed a "startling and memorable book" by the New Statesman's Erica Wagner and "well worth reading" by the Times' David Aaronovitch. Macfarlane, who scooped a British Book Award last year for his collaboration with illustrator Jackie Morris on children's poetry title The Lost Words (Hamish Hamilton), was praised for his "effective and compelling" exploration of the world underground—"It would be difficult to imagine a  richer or more stirring response to the strange landscapes hidden beneath us"—and secured a string of five star ratings from the Guardian, the Spectator and the Daily Telegraph. Faber & Faber celebrated its 90th anniversary last week, with the publication of Faber & Faber: The Untold Story proving another popular choice in the press. The Sunday Times declared Toby Faber's "inside story of Britain’s most illustrious publishing house" a "striking drama", while the Spectator's DJ Taylor said "for an official history [it's] agreeably even-handed". Finally, Andrea Lawlor's moving debut Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl (Picador) transports Virginia Woolf's Orlando to 90s San Francisco to great effect. The New Yorker praised Lawlor for "successfully mixing pop culture, gender theory, and smut", while the Guardian's Hannah Jane Parkinson said this is "a book that deserves to break out of the LGBT speciality bookshops". By Francesca Pymm, Online Editor, The Bookseller Book of the Week Underland Robert Macfarlane 4.06 out of 5 | 10 reviews "I admire his values and his gusto but find his company wearying over the long haul" Financial Times " this is a book well worth reading" The Times "I turned the last page with the unusual conviction of having been in the company of a fine writer" The Daily Telegraph "Some unsettling notes from the underground," Evening Standard Read all reviews Latest Reviews Machines Like Me Ian McEwan 3.79 out of 5 | 14 reviews "The book is full of free-floating fears" London Review of Books One Hundred Miracles TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "a compelling story of terrible suffering surmounted by incredible bravery" The Daily Telegraph She-merchants, Buccaneers & Gentlewomen Katie Hickman 3.75 out of 5 | 5 reviews " a surprising history of British women in India" The Sunday Times Who Owns England? Guy Shrubsole 2.70 out of 5 | 4 reviews "a wasted opportunity" The Daily Telegraph Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps Ursula Buchan 3.58 out of 5 | 6 reviews "Buchan reveals truth duller than fiction" The Guardian The Heavens Sandra Newman 3.57 out of 5 | 3 reviews "it’s a shame these idealistic millennials are so unlikeable" The Sunday Times The Porpoise Mark Haddon 3.67 out of 5 | 4 reviews "weird tale of time travel and incest" The Times The Professor and the Parson Adam Sisman 3.89 out of 5 | 5 reviews "This is a truly wonderful story" The Spectator The Tunnels Below Nadine Wild-Palmer, Ellen Shi 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "a zippy and captivating read" Book Trust Best Reviewed The Flatshare Beth O'Leary 4.60 out of 5 | 3 reviews "uproariously funny" Woman & Home Airhead Emily Maitlis 4.40 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Airhead is a compilation of her greatest hits. And boy there are many." Evening Standard This is Shakespeare Emma Smith 4.40 out of 5 | 3 reviews "a brilliantly lighthearted guide to the Bard" The Daily Telegraph Our Man George Packer 4.38 out of 5 | 4 reviews "a deeply affecting and ultimately tragic biography " Financial Times The Last Leonardo Ben Lewis 4.25 out of 5 | 3 reviews "(a) fascinating and persuasive account" The Sunday Times Days in the Caucasus Banine, Anne Thompson-Ahmadova 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "Banine’s exquisite, prose and unremitting eye for comic absurdity even amid the profoundest personal tragedy" The Spectator A Stranger City Linda Grant 3.86 out of 5 | 4 reviews "The novel is busy with sights, sounds and people but, like the city, it occasionally proves exhausting and confusing" The Times The Doll Factory Elizabeth Macneal 3.83 out of 5 | 3 reviews "a remarkably strong debut" The Times Michael Tippett: The Biography Oliver Soden 3.78 out of 5 | 5 reviews "(a) searching and beautifully written biography" The Daily Telegraph Most Reviewed Machines Like Me Ian McEwan 3.79 out of 5 | 14 reviews "The book is full of free-floating fears" London Review of Books Spring Ali Smith 4.03 out of 5 | 10 reviews "Ali Smith is, I think, a life-enhancer" The Scotsman Things in Jars Jess Kidd 4.13 out of 5 | 8 reviews "Kidd still manages to surprise, summoning up a sprawling, vibrant Victorian London" The Herald The Parisian Isabella Hammad 4.00 out of 5 | 7 reviews "[a] breathtaking debut." Irish Times Metropolis Philip Kerr 4.31 out of 5 | 7 reviews "a magnificent tribute to both character and author" Daily Mail Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps Ursula Buchan 3.58 out of 5 | 6 reviews "Buchan reveals truth duller than fiction" The Guardian © 2019 Bookseller Media Ltd.

Including Brett Easton Ellis' White, Isabella Hammad's The Parisian, Ben Lewis' The Last Leonardo plus The Women's Prize shortlist... Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review 29th April 2019 Critics tip the chapeau to Hammad for The Parisian Good morning Karen, Isabella Hammad's The Parisian (Jonathan Cape) has enchanted the critics almost as much as it did Zadie Smith, who compared the debut author to Flaubert and described the novel as "a sublime reading experience" and "a wonder". Many reviewers agreed—Robin Yassin-Kassab said "The Parisian teems with riches [...] and marks the arrival of a bright new talent", Emily Rhodes in the Financial Times described as "rich" and "luscious", and Holly Williams in the Independent declared it to be "exquisitely controlled"—though Smith's endorsement loomed large. Andrew Gallix in the Irish Times pondered, "Is it really 'realism in the tradition of Flaubert', as Zadie Smith claims in her blurb, or rather a beautifully executed pastiche?" while Claire Lowdon in the Sunday Times believed Smith had done Hammad "a great disservice", adding, "Her endorsement and the ensuing hype will sell copies, but they will also raise readers’ expectations way beyond what’s reasonable," for a title she felt was "an admirably ambitious debut by an intelligent, hard-working writer". Ben Lewis' The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World's Most Expensive Painting (William Collins) also earned acclaim for his story of Da Vinci's Salvator Mundi. In the Times, David Sanderson stated, "Rather than a dry-as-dust art monograph, the result is a pacey detective story," and Charles Nicoll in the Guardian found it to be "narrated with great gusto and formidably researched detail". Sally Rooney's Normal People (Faber) may be the critics' darling, with 19 reviews and a 4.5 star rating through Books in the Media, but it missed out on the Women's Prize shortlist. In its wake, perhaps Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls (Hamish Hamilton) will emerge victorious—despite the presence of Man Booker Prize-winning Milkman (Faber) and former winner Madeline Miller's Circe (Bloomsbury) on the shortlist, Barker's re-telling of the Iliad has a near-perfect star rating of 4.77 and has been declared "an assured triumph" by Peter Kemp in the Sunday Times, and "an important, powerful, memorable book" by Emily Wilson in the Guardian. By Kiera O'Brien, charts editor, The Bookseller Book of the Week The Parisian Isabella Hammad 4.00 out of 5 | 7 reviews "That this remarkable historical epic should be the début of a writer in her twenties seems impossible, yet it’s true" The Bookseller "an admirably ambitious debut by an intelligent, hard-working writer" The Sunday Times "a pleasure to read" Literary Review "this exquisitely controlled love story is all in the detail" The Independent Read all reviews Latest Reviews White Bret Easton Ellis 2.36 out of 5 | 6 reviews "his best work in years" The Sunday Times Clear Bright Future Paul Mason TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "He tables an important scenario in which artificial agents become more intelligent than us" The Observer Who Owns England? Guy Shrubsole 3.13 out of 5 | 3 reviews "A passionate author rails against the way land is owned in England. " The Sunday Times Things in Jars Jess Kidd 4.13 out of 5 | 8 reviews "Kidd still manages to surprise, summoning up a sprawling, vibrant Victorian London" The Herald Roar Cecelia Ahern 3.64 out of 5 | 4 reviews "Funny, wise and weighty in a very good way" The Independent The Capital Robert Menasse, Jamie Bulloch 4.14 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Satire revealing higher and more urgent truths" Irish Times The Professor and the Parson Adam Sisman TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "unravelling a bizarre tale" The Sunday Times Philosopher of the Heart Clare Carlisle 3.00 out of 5 | 6 reviews " likely to confuse a reader who doesn’t have a basic grasp of Kierkegaard’s life" The Spectator We, The Survivors Tash Aw 3.67 out of 5 | 4 reviews "A fearful young man carries out a seemingly random crime in this gripping and strangely moving novel" The Guardian Best Reviewed The Flatshare Beth O'Leary 4.60 out of 5 | 3 reviews "uproariously funny" Woman & Home Airhead Emily Maitlis 4.40 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Her writing is excellent: precise, economical and accessible" The Guardian Appeasing Hitler Tim Bouverie 4.39 out of 5 | 9 reviews "A great account of how political misjudgments ultimately encouraged Nazi aggression" Evening Standard Metropolis Philip Kerr 4.31 out of 5 | 7 reviews "a magnificent tribute to both character and author" Daily Mail Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me Kate Clanchy 4.25 out of 5 | 3 reviews "one of the most inspiring books about teaching you’ll ever read" The Sunday Times The Last Leonardo Ben Lewis 4.25 out of 5 | 3 reviews "(a) fascinating and persuasive account" The Sunday Times Wakenhyrst Michelle Paver 4.20 out of 5 | 5 reviews "original and engrossing... brilliant" The Observer The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin Jonathan Phillips 4.20 out of 5 | 5 reviews "fascinating, authoritative and intelligent" The Spectator Constellations Sinead Gleeson 4.17 out of 5 | 6 reviews "Without polemic, without grandstanding, she makes the point that the female body is still a political battleground" The Daily Telegraph Most Reviewed Machines Like Me Ian McEwan 3.92 out of 5 | 12 reviews "A novel this smart oughtn’t to be such fun, but it is" The Observer Appeasing Hitler Tim Bouverie 4.39 out of 5 | 9 reviews "A great account of how political misjudgments ultimately encouraged Nazi aggression" Evening Standard Things in Jars Jess Kidd 4.13 out of 5 | 8 reviews "Kidd still manages to surprise, summoning up a sprawling, vibrant Victorian London" The Herald The Parisian Isabella Hammad 4.00 out of 5 | 7 reviews "[a] breathtaking debut." Irish Times White Bret Easton Ellis 2.36 out of 5 | 6 reviews "his best work in years" The Sunday Times Airhead Emily Maitlis 4.40 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Her writing is excellent: precise, economical and accessible" The Guardian © 2019 Bookseller Media Ltd.

Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review 18th April 2019 Reviewers blow a fuse for McEwan's Machines Like Me Good morning Karen, Ian McEwan's Machines Like Me (Jonathan Cape) has generated rave reviews, with the speculative sci-fi tale, set in an alternative 1980s Britain, described as "a bravura performance" by the Sunday Times' Peter Kemp, who added, "Machines Like Me displays [McEwan's] repertoire in all its impressive richness." Marcel Theroux in the Guardian agreed, describing it as "morally complex and very disturbing, animated by a spirit of sinister and intelligent mischief that feels unique to its author". However, some critics baulked at the amount of topics McEwan touches upon, with Johanna Thomas-Corr in the Times noting, "There's a lot to chew on here," and the Daily Mail's review stating, "By the end of the book, you might feel [...] pretty stuffed. But you’ll also find it hard not to admire the sheer scale of McEwan’s ambition." John Barton's A History of the Bible (Allen Lane) had the critics in raptures, with Bart D Ehrman in the Daily Telegraph declaring it to be "essential reading" and Melanie McDonough in the Evening Standard described it as "fascinating". Peter Stanford in the Sunday Times believed the title to be "an extraordinary tour de force", adding "With emotional and psychological insight, Barton unlocks this sleeping giant of our culture for the untrained but curious general reader. In the process, he has produced a masterpiece." Beth O'Leary's debut The Flatshare (Quercus) has made itself at home on the review pages, earning a 4.6 star rating. The Bookseller's previewer Alice O'Keeffe was first out of the blocks to pronounce the romance "a charming, joyous hit", and Nina Pottell in Prima agreed, describing it as "a quirky, feelgood read, bursting with character and warmth." Woman & Home's Isabelle Broom found it "uproariously funny".  By Kiara O'Brien, charts editor, The Bookseller Midweek update: the first batch of reviews for E. L. James' new novel, The Mister (Arrow), are in. They are all unsurprisingly sniffy, altough everyone predicts the title will sell in the millions whatever the critical reaction. On the other side of the Atlantic - and the critical scale - Sally Rooney's Normal People (Faber & Faber) has had its first wave of reviews in the US, and they are all raves. Vox's Constance Grady sums up the consensus, saying it will be "tough to beat as book of the year."

Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review 15th April 2019 Reviewers blow a fuse for McEwan's Machines Like Me Good morning Karen, Ian McEwan's Machines Like Me (Jonathan Cape) has generated rave reviews, with the speculative sci-fi tale, set in an alternative 1980s Britain, described as "a bravura performance" by the Sunday Times' Peter Kemp, who added, "Machines Like Me displays [McEwan's] repertoire in all its impressive richness." Marcel Theroux in the Guardian agreed, describing it as "morally complex and very disturbing, animated by a spirit of sinister and intelligent mischief that feels unique to its author". However, some critics baulked at the amount of topics McEwan touches upon, with Johanna Thomas-Corr in the Times noting, "There's a lot to chew on here," and the Daily Mail's review stating, "By the end of the book, you might feel [...] pretty stuffed. But you’ll also find it hard not to admire the sheer scale of McEwan’s ambition." John Barton's A History of the Bible (Allen Lane) had the critics in raptures, with Bart D Ehrman in the Daily Telegraph declaring it to be "essential reading" and Melanie McDonough in the Evening Standard described it as "fascinating". Peter Stanford in the Sunday Times believed the title to be "an extraordinary tour de force", adding "With emotional and psychological insight, Barton unlocks this sleeping giant of our culture for the untrained but curious general reader. In the process, he has produced a masterpiece." Beth O'Leary's debut The Flatshare (Quercus) has made itself at home on the review pages, earning a 4.6 star rating. The Bookseller's previewer Alice O'Keeffe was first out of the blocks to pronounce the romance "a charming, joyous hit", and Nina Pottell in Prima agreed, describing it as "a quirky, feelgood read, bursting with character and warmth." Woman & Home's Isabelle Broom found it "uproariously funny".  By Kiara O'Brien, charts editor, The Bookseller Book of the Week Machines Like Me Ian McEwan 3.82 out of 5 | 8 reviews "you’ll also find it hard not to admire the sheer scale of McEwan’s ambition" Daily Mail "a technically masterful if occasionally bloodless novel" Financial Times "morally complex and very disturbing, animated by a spirit of sinister and intelligent mischief that feels unique to its author" The Guardian "Machines Like Me reminds us that McEwan is a once-in-a-generation talent, offering readerly pleasure, cerebral incisiveness and an enticing imagination" The Spectator Read all reviews Latest Reviews Black, Listed Jeffrey Boakye TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "Boakye teaches all of us valuable lessons in history, sociology, politics, literature and pop culture" The Guardian Protest and Power David Kogan 3.25 out of 5 | 3 reviews "Kogan tells this story with admirable even-handedness and plenty of revealing quotation" The Sunday Times Appeasing Hitler Tim Bouverie 4.41 out of 5 | 8 reviews "A gripping account of the nation’s greatest mistake is timely and relevant" The Observer The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin Jonathan Phillips 4.11 out of 5 | 4 reviews "paints a rich, absorbing picture of the 12th-century Middle East" The Sunday Telegraph The Island Ragnar Jonasson TBC out of 5 | 2 reviews "a chilling novel about people with dark secrets" The Sunday Times Cruel Acts Jane Casey 4.00 out of 5 | 3 reviews "marks a welcome return for Jane Casey" The Sunday Times Eric Hobsbawn: A Life in History Sir Richard J. Evans 3.59 out of 5 | 15 reviews "No stone goes unturned" London Review of Books Mother: An Unconventional History Sarah Knott 3.91 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Utterly compelling book looks at perspectives ranging from Victorian women to slaves" Financial Times You Will Be Safe Here Damian Barr 3.67 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Barr has written a novel pleasurably rich with lines that would lose half their power if they lost just one of their words" The Herald Best Reviewed The Flatshare Beth O'Leary 4.60 out of 5 | 3 reviews "uproariously funny" Woman & Home What Dementia Teaches Us About Love Nicci Gerrard 4.44 out of 5 | 4 reviews "moving mixture of philosophy and anecdote" Literary Review The Other Americans Laila Lalami 4.42 out of 5 | 6 reviews "a domestic drama and a disillusioned view of the American dream, all rooted in a wary post-9/11 world" The Sunday Times A History of the Bible John Barton 4.30 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Its teachings have shaped the west but is scripture the ‘gospel truth’?" Financial Times Reasons to Be Cheerful Nina Stibbe 4.29 out of 5 | 4 reviews "Nina Stibbe is one of the great comic writers of our time" Irish Times Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me Kate Clanchy 4.25 out of 5 | 3 reviews "one of the most inspiring books about teaching you’ll ever read" The Sunday Times Things in Jars Jess Kidd 4.20 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Her descriptions of [London] ring rich and poetic, with seamless pockets of elegance" Irish Times Metropolis Philip Kerr 4.18 out of 5 | 6 reviews "Final entry in Nazi-era detective series makes for a bittersweet experience" Financial Times The Patient Assassin Anita Anand 4.10 out of 5 | 5 reviews "Anita Anand combines interesting details with forensic research and an eye for colour" Irish Times All-Time Best Crime & Mystery Fiction The Border 4.88 out of 5 | 8 reviews " as multi-stranded as a novel by Victor Hugo" The Daily Telegraph A Treachery of Spies Manda Scott 4.71 out of 5 | 3 reviews "engrossing and ingenious" The Times Resurrection Bay Emma Viskic 4.57 out of 5 | 3 reviews "gut-wrenching twists and an engaging protagonist" Daily Express Scrublands Chris Hammer 4.57 out of 5 | 3 reviews "an epic and immersive read" The Guardian Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke 4.54 out of 5 | 5 reviews "(a) nuanced meditation on race, roots and belonging" The Guardian Macbeth Jo Nesbo 4.50 out of 5 | 3 reviews "The result is inventive and deeply satisfying, especially to readers already familiar with the plot" The New York Times © 2019 Bookseller Media Ltd.