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Introducing new reviews for Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, Nick Timothy's Remaking One Nation: The Future of Conservatism and Lars Mytting's The Bell in the Lake Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review 30th March 2020 Reviews praise Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet as a book that ought to win prizes Good Morning, Maggie O’Farrell’s Shakespearian history Hamnet seems destined for greatness after this weekend's reviews. Voted as an Editor’s Choice in The Bookseller, Alice O’Keeffe called the novel “a genuine literary/commercial crossover”, adding that “nobody writes more movingly about intimate family relationships, especially children, than O’Farrell.” In the Observer, Stephanie Merritt said the novel confirms O’Farrell as "an extraordinarily versatile writer, with a profound understanding of the most elemental human bonds.” Joanna Briscoe also found the prose to be close to perfect, writing in the Guardian that Hamnet is “Immersive, at times shockingly intimate, and triumphantly brought to fruition, this is a work that ought to win prizes.” In the Sunday Telegraph, Francesca Carington said the book "bursts with life" and is "a sensual retelling of Shakespeare’s turbulent family life."  Nick Timothy's somewhat timely publication of Remaking One Nation: The Future of Conservatism didn't go unnoticed by reviewers. In the Sunday Times, David Goodhart called the exploration a "manifesto for the leftish Conservatism that propelled the Tories to election victory" adding that the book is "important" as it "describes the worldview that, for now, is running the country." In the Times, Quentin Letts calls the work a "dense, dialectical contemplation about the future of conservatism."  Lars Mytting's The Bell in the Lake had reviewers chiming in with praise this weekend. The Times named the novel Historical Fiction Book of the Month; Antonia Senior said: "Mytting uses the love story to explore the clash between tradition and modernity." In the Sunday Times, Nick Rennison said Mytting's "cleverly crafted story heads inexorably towards a moving conclusion." Christian House cleverly dubbed the book "a fireside read, with splinters" in the Financial Times, as Mytting "shows how landscape and climate can define a character."  By Tamsin Hackett, Books Co-Ordinator, The Bookseller Book of the Week Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell 4.37 out of 5 | 10 reviews "Nobody writes more movingly about intimate family relationships, especially children, than O'Farrell, who is that rarest of writers; a genuine literary/commercial crossover" The Bookseller "a visceral, lushly drawn story" Red "The death of the Bard’s son prompts this powerful novel about parental grief" The Sunday Times "It's a beautifully written novel but I confess I read it with a faint impatience" Evening Standard Latest Reviews Redhead by the Side of the Road Anne Tyler TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...Tyler rarely disappoints, but this is her best novel in some time" The Observer Capital and Ideology Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer 3.3 out of 5 9 reviews "......an astonishing experiment in social science, one that defies easy comparison" The Guardian My Dark Vanessa Kate Elizabeth Russell 3.9 out of 5 6 reviews "...Russell's debut stood out for me in an extremely strong month for debut fiction" The Bookseller One Two Three Four Craig Brown TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...a ridiculously enjoyable treat" The Sunday Times The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich 4.2 out of 5 3 reviews "...this exquisite novel is perhaps her most powerful to date" The Spectator Notes from an Apocalypse Mark O'Connell TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...a fidgety, fretful but very funny book with which to while away the days in self-isolation" The Times Dead Famous Greg Jenner 3.4 out of 5 3 reviews "...(a) joyous romp of a book" The Guardian The Kinks: Songs of the Semi-Detached Mark Doyle 3.7 out of 5 3 reviews "...In an exercise in what he calls ‘historically informed rock criticism’, Mark Doyle considers the Kinks," Literary Review Recollections of My Non-Existence Rebecca Solnit (Y) 4.1 out of 5 7 reviews "...it is a rare writer who has both the intellectual heft and the authority of frontline experience to tackle the most urgent issues of our time" The Observer House of Glass Hadley Freeman 4.6 out of 5 11 reviews "...Freeman is a meticulous, dogged researcher, deftly pulling the strands of these many stories into a narrative" Literary Review Lives of Houses Hermione Lee, Kate Kennedy TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...the essays remind us how much experiences of home have changed across the centuries" The Spectator Self-Portrait Celia Paul 3.8 out of 5 6 reviews "...Paul writes of her ten-year relationship with Freud without rancour; but only after they parted could she concentrate on her own career as a painter" The Spectator Book of the Month: Paperback Some Kids I taught and what they taught me Kate Clanchy By telling the stories of some of the kids she's taught, as well as her own, Kate Clanchy (MBE) offers a candid, funny and moving insight into life in British state schools today. Best Reviewed Our Bodies, Their Battlefield Christina Lamb 4.6 out of 5 7 reviews "...one of the saddest, most shocking and devastatingly authentic books I’ve read" The Times Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell 4.4 out of 5 10 reviews "...Nobody writes more movingly about intimate family relationships, especially children, than O'Farrell, who is that rarest of writers; a genuine literary/commercial crossover" The Bookseller The Voice in My Ear Frances Leviston 4.3 out of 5 3 reviews "...a stunning exercise in perceptivity" Financial Times Sitopia Carolyn Steel 4.3 out of 5 3 reviews "...an unambiguously essential read" The Daily Telegraph Silver Sparrow Tayari Jones 4.3 out of 5 4 reviews "...Silver Sparra story of bigamy and secrets becomes a shrewd coming-of-age tale of two sisters" The Sunday Telegraph The Bass Rock Evie Wyld 4.2 out of 5 8 reviews "...Written with blistering force and righteous anger, this outstanding novel will stay with me for a long time." The Bookseller This Too Shall Pass Julia Samuel 4.2 out of 5 5 reviews "...From the start, Samuel draws us in" The Sunday Telegraph The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich 4.2 out of 5 3 reviews "...this exquisite novel is perhaps her most powerful to date" The Spectator Most Reviewed The Mirror and the Light Hilary Mantel 4.5 out of 5 22 reviews "...Someone give the Booker Prize judges the rest of the year off" The Observer Actress Anne Enright 3.9 out of 5 17 reviews "...Its brilliance is complex and multifaceted, but completely lucid" The Spectator Weather Jenny Offill 4.3 out of 5 15 reviews "...Short (201pp), expertly crafted and so, so funny. Offill is such a surprising writer and this is an absolute joy." The Bookseller A Thousand Moons Sebastian Barry 4.1 out of 5 13 reviews "...a journey that is horrifying, thrilling and enchanting in equal measure" The Observer House of Glass Hadley Freeman 4.6 out of 5 11 reviews "...Freeman is a meticulous, dogged researcher, deftly pulling the strands of these many stories into a narrative" Literary Review A Small Revolution in Germany Philip Hensher 3.1 out of 5 11 reviews "...Hensher exhibits pitch-perfect control of the narrative with humour, grace and intellectual rigour that is worn lightly on his sleeve" Irish Times The Death of Jesus J.M. Coetzee 3.3 out of 5 11 reviews "...The Death of Jesus abounds in definitional disputes, hairline distinctions and logical paradoxes" New Statesman The Shapeless Unease Samantha Harvey 4.1 out of 5 11 reviews "...a merciless and self-mocking memoir in which Harvey shows us the insomniac’s universe of “edgeless expanse”." The Daily Telegraph Online Book Events from BookGig Q&A with Maggie O'Farrell on Hamnet Tuesday 7th April, 2020 @ 7:00 pm Book Launch: SWAY Thursday 2nd April, 2020 @ 9:00 am Nikki Smith: Live Q&A Thursday 2nd April, 2020 @ 12:00 pm Q&A with Marion Todd Wednesday 15th April, 2020 @ 7:00 pm © 2020 Bookseller Media Ltd.

Introducing new reviews for Adam Mars-Jones's Box Hill, Rachel Johnson's Rake's Progress and Archie Brown's The Human Factor. Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review 26th March 2020 Adam Mars-Jones's Box Hill is praised as clever, subtle and endearing Good Morning, Adam Mars-Jones’s Box Hill revved up reviewers this weekend. The Sunday Times’ Alex Nurnberg called the novel “measured”, “thoughtful” and “oddly pure”. Nurnberg gave the author high praise: “Adam Mars-Jones has never needed to write at great length to convince readers of his talent.” At the Observer, Anthony Cummins said: “our interest in the book’s twisted romance lies, instead, in how it raises intractable questions about the essential mystery of attachment between consenting adults.”  Max Lui called the novel “clever and subtle” in the Financial Times, whilst at the Spectator Houman Barekat praised the “endearing anti-glamour” of Mars-Jones’s novel.  Rachel Johnson’s Rake’s Progress: My Political Midlife Crisis made campaign-worthy headlines as an Observer Book of the Week, with Gaby Hinsliff calling the book “sheer gossipy joy, the perfect escape from a fug of coronavirus anxiety”. Hinsliff went on to say that “there is something gloriously refreshing about an account of political failure in which nobody is trying to excuse or hide the buttock-clenching awfulness of it.” Rosemund Irwin at the Sunday Times similarly praised the author's unabashed account: “There is a lot of fun here, though, largely because Rachel is not worried about causing offence. An unembarrassable oversharer, she seems determined to make others blush.” Patrick Kidd at the Times said: "Rachel Johnson’s disastrous attempt at politics becomes an entertaining memoir”. Archie Brown’s The Human Factor was a leader with this weekend's reviewers. At the Sunday Times, Dominic Sandbrook gave it high praise: “everybody will learn something from this first-class book.” In the Financial Times, Tony Barber raved about Brown’s focus on soft power and “challenging the idea of victory for military alone” calling it “a lesson that needs relearning for the 21st Century.” Rodric Braithwaite called the work “lucidly written and scholarly” in the Spectator. Whilst at the Literary Review, Christopher Coker said “it is often a challenge for historians to find the right balance between the human factor and the historical forces at play” but commends Brown for doing precisely that.  By Tamsin Hackett, Books Co-ordinator, The Bookseller Book of the Week Box Hill Adam Mars-Jones 3.75 out of 5 | 4 reviews "There’s an endearing anti-glamour to this novel" The Spectator "...abuse and comedy coexist in this subtle novel " The Observer "Adam Mars-Jones has never needed to write at great length to convince readers of his talent." The Sunday Times "A gay S&M relationship is at the core of this clever novel — but opportunities are missed" Financial Times Latest Reviews Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell 4.4 out of 5 5 reviews "...Nobody writes more movingly about intimate family relationships, especially children, than O'Farrell, who is that rarest of writers; a genuine literary/commercial crossover" The Bookseller Conclusions John Boorman TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...In the end, what makes Conclusions so delightful is Boorman’s awareness of how absurd cinema is" The Guardian Lady in Waiting Anne Glenconner 3.9 out of 5 7 reviews "...a lesson on how to take whatever life throws at us" The Spectator Keeper Jessica Moor 4 out of 5 3 reviews "...Violence against women is at the heart of Jessica Moor’s disturbing first novel" The Sunday Times No Modernism Without Lesbians Diana Souhami TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...(a) vastly entertaining and often moving group biography" The Times A Thousand Moons Sebastian Barry 4.1 out of 5 10 reviews "...This astonishing novel... Another masterpiece" The Bookseller Radical Wordsworth: The Poet Who Changed the World Jonathan Bate TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...packs in a lot of erudition" The Sunday Times This Too Shall Pass Julia Samuel 4.2 out of 5 5 reviews "...From the start, Samuel draws us in" The Sunday Telegraph The Discomfort of Evening Marieke Lucas Rijneveld 3.7 out of 5 5 reviews "...Rijneveld has created something exceptional" Financial Times Red at the Bone Jacqueline Woodson 3.9 out of 5 5 reviews "...Red at the Bone is pure poetry, filled with incantatory repetitions, soaring cadences, burnished images" The Observer The Bass Rock Evie Wyld 4.2 out of 5 6 reviews "...Written with blistering force and righteous anger, this outstanding novel will stay with me for a long time." The Bookseller The Human Factor Archie Brown (Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Oxford) 4 out of 5 4 reviews "... lucidly written and scholarly" The Spectator Book of the Month: Paperback Some kids I taught and what they taught me Kate Clanchy A "professional confessional" where Clanchy, a teacher for 30 years, talks about some of the children she has taught.  Best Reviewed Our Bodies, Their Battlefield Christina Lamb 4.7 out of 5 6 reviews "...one of the saddest, most shocking and devastatingly authentic books I’ve read" The Times Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell 4.4 out of 5 5 reviews "...Nobody writes more movingly about intimate family relationships, especially children, than O'Farrell, who is that rarest of writers; a genuine literary/commercial crossover" The Bookseller Sitopia Carolyn Steel 4.3 out of 5 3 reviews "...an unambiguously essential read" The Daily Telegraph Silver Sparrow Tayari Jones 4.3 out of 5 4 reviews "...Silver Sparra story of bigamy and secrets becomes a shrewd coming-of-age tale of two sisters" The Sunday Telegraph This Too Shall Pass Julia Samuel 4.2 out of 5 5 reviews "...From the start, Samuel draws us in" The Sunday Telegraph Britain's War Daniel Todman 4.2 out of 5 3 reviews "...probably the most accomplished history of Britain during the Second World War published in the last decade" Literary Review The Bass Rock Evie Wyld 4.2 out of 5 6 reviews "...Written with blistering force and righteous anger, this outstanding novel will stay with me for a long time." The Bookseller Our House is on Fire Malena Ernman, Greta Thunberg, Beata Ernman, Svante Thunberg 4 out of 5 6 reviews "...It is an urgent, lucid, courageous account" The Guardian Most Reviewed The Mirror and the Light Hilary Mantel 4.5 out of 5 22 reviews "...The long-awaited final part of the Booker-winning trilogy is a masterpiece that will keep yielding its riches" The Guardian Actress Anne Enright 3.9 out of 5 17 reviews "...Brilliant" The Bookseller Weather Jenny Offill 4.3 out of 5 15 reviews "...Short (201pp), expertly crafted and so, so funny. Offill is such a surprising writer and this is an absolute joy." The Bookseller The Shapeless Unease Samantha Harvey 4.1 out of 5 11 reviews "...a merciless and self-mocking memoir in which Harvey shows us the insomniac’s universe of “edgeless expanse”." The Daily Telegraph The Death of Jesus J.M. Coetzee 3.3 out of 5 11 reviews "...Franker and more oblique than anything he has written" The Sunday Telegraph A Small Revolution in Germany Philip Hensher 3.1 out of 5 11 reviews "...Hensher exhibits pitch-perfect control of the narrative with humour, grace and intellectual rigour that is worn lightly on his sleeve" Irish Times House of Glass Hadley Freeman 4.7 out of 5 10 reviews "...From the moment I began it, I could not put this superb book down" The Bookseller A Thousand Moons Sebastian Barry 4.1 out of 5 10 reviews "...This astonishing novel... Another masterpiece" The Bookseller © 2020 Bookseller Media Ltd.

Introducing new reviews for Michael Bond's Wayfinding, John Carey's A Little History of Poetry and Louise Hare's This Lovely City Home | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Children's | Genres | Publications | Prizes The Week in Review: 16th March 2020 Reviews for Michael Bond's Wayfinding universally praise the author's distinct personality Good Morning,  Michael Bond’s Wayfinding blew people’s minds and stumbled upon some great reviews. The book was an Editor’s Choice for The Bookseller’s Caroline Sanderson, who credited Bond's “smart, funny and personal take on the institution of marriage.” Mark Cocker at the New Statesman called Wayfinding a “compelling study of our ability to get from A to B.” Over at the Sunday Times, James McConnachie commented that “at the heart of this book is a detailed account of the neuroscience of navigation. It is fascinating.” Bond was also praised by Jake Kerridge at the Sunday Telegraph who said “this evidence of a distinctive personality makes a welcome change in the often rather antiseptic field of popular science writing, adding an extra dimension.”  John Carey’s A Little History of Poetry made a momentous impact this weekend. Another Editor’s Choice in The Bookseller, Caroline Sanderson called the work “splendid” and praised the author who “spans 4,000 years with admirable concision as he reflects some of the finest poems ever written”. At the Sunday Times, Sebastian Faulks gave Carey a rave review as he “combines high scholarship with a disdain for elitism.” At the Times, James Marriott called the book “fun” and full of “mischief”. Finally, the Evening Standard’s David Sexton approves the book as a “characterfully compered mini-anthology.”  Louise Hare's This Lovely City was no mystery to reviewers this weekend. Patricia Nicol said in the Sunday Times that the debut “offers a vivid portrait of the immigrant experience of post-war London.” In the Daily Mail, Wendy Holden said she “loved the post-war atmosphere”. Whilst Zoe West in Woman & Home thought it was “atmospheric” and “thought-provoking”. In the Observer, Hephzibah Anderson gave her nod of approval for the debut, saying the novel “pairs a poignant tale of young love and shameful prejudice with a twisting mystery, all embedded in a historical moment with keen contemporary resonance.”   By Tamsin Hackett, Books Co-ordinator, The Bookseller Book of the Week Wayfinding Michael Bond 4.10 out of 5 | 5 reviews "she hazards some solutions for pulling oneself out of the midlife abyss, as well as keeping the next generation of women from falling into it." The Bookseller "at the heart of this book is a detailed account of the neuroscience of navigation. It is fascinating. " The Sunday Times "After reading this book the reader might like to try out some of Bond’s theories. So go on: get lost" The Spectator "a compelling study of our ability to get from A to B" New Statesman Latest Reviews The Girl with the Louding Voice Abi Dare 3.8 out of 5 3 reviews "...Her protagonist Adunni is still young when she is forced into an abusive marriage" The Sunday Times My Dark Vanessa Kate Elizabeth Russell 4.7 out of 5 3 reviews "...Russell's debut stood out for me in an extremely strong month for debut fiction" The Bookseller Silver Sparrow Tayari Jones 4.3 out of 5 4 reviews "...Silver Sparra story of bigamy and secrets becomes a shrewd coming-of-age tale of two sisters" The Sunday Telegraph Keeper Jessica Moor TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...Violence against women is at the heart of Jessica Moor’s disturbing first novel" The Sunday Times This Lovely City Louise Hare 4 out of 5 6 reviews "...This hotly anticipated debut offers a vivid portrait of the immigrant experience of postwar London" The Sunday Times The Good, the Bad and the Little Bit Stupid Marina Lewycka 2.4 out of 5 4 reviews "... Lewycka’s strategy is to go in all puns blazing, blasting negativity to the four winds with her gags and wisecracks" Financial Times Winter in Sokcho Elisa Shua Dusapin, Aneesa Abbas Higgins 4.4 out of 5 3 reviews "...Winter in Sokcho is a noirish cold sweat of a book" The Guardian The Chain Adrian McKinty 4.5 out of 5 4 reviews "...an immensely clever thriller... an absolute blockbuster" The Sunday Times The Recovery of Rose Gold Stephanie Wrobel TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...a rivetingly nasty psychological duel" The Sunday Times Going Dark Julia Ebner 3.3 out of 5 4 reviews "...fascinating and important" The Spectator MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman Ben Hubbard 4 out of 5 3 reviews "...Hubbard’s book is anything but a hagiography. It is definitely worth the read." The Guardian Gloves Off Louisa Reid TBC out of 5 2 reviews "...an intense, original and profoundly moving verse novel" The Guardian Book of the Month: Children's The Highland Falcon Thief M. G. Leonard A major new series where each mystery takes place aboard a different train. In the first adventure, Harrison Beck reluctantly joins his travel-writer uncle aboard the last journey of a royal locomotive, travelling from King's Cross up the east coast to Balmoral. M. G. Leonard Best Reviewed When Time Stopped Ariana Neumann 4.8 out of 5 5 reviews "...Neumann has a gift for observation and an eye for specificity" Times Literary Supplement Our Bodies, Their Battlefield Christina Lamb 4.7 out of 5 5 reviews "...deeply traumatic and important" The Observer House of Glass Hadley Freeman 4.6 out of 5 9 reviews "...this finely honed and engaging account draws the threads between then and now" The Guardian A Little History of Poetry John Carey 4.6 out of 5 4 reviews "...Carey combines high scholarship with a disdain for elitism" The Sunday Times Winter in Sokcho Elisa Shua Dusapin, Aneesa Abbas Higgins 4.4 out of 5 3 reviews "...Winter in Sokcho is a noirish cold sweat of a book" The Guardian Sitopia Carolyn Steel 4.3 out of 5 3 reviews "...an unambiguously essential read" The Daily Telegraph Silver Sparrow Tayari Jones 4.3 out of 5 4 reviews "...Silver Sparra story of bigamy and secrets becomes a shrewd coming-of-age tale of two sisters" The Sunday Telegraph Our House is on Fire Malena Ernman, Greta Thunberg, Beata Ernman, Svante Thunberg 4.2 out of 5 5 reviews "...It is an urgent, lucid, courageous account" The Guardian Most Reviewed The Mirror and the Light Hilary Mantel 4.5 out of 5 21 reviews "...“The Mirror and the Light” is the triumphant capstone to Mantel’s trilogy on Thomas Cromwell" The New York Times Actress Anne Enright 3.9 out of 5 17 reviews "...Its brilliance is complex and multifaceted, but completely lucid" The Spectator Weather Jenny Offill 4.3 out of 5 15 reviews "...an uncanny portrait of how it feels to be alive right now" The Daily Telegraph The Shapeless Unease Samantha Harvey 4.1 out of 5 11 reviews "...a merciless and self-mocking memoir in which Harvey shows us the insomniac’s universe of “edgeless expanse”." The Daily Telegraph The Death of Jesus J.M. Coetzee 3.3 out of 5 11 reviews "...The Death of Jesus abounds in definitional disputes, hairline distinctions and logical paradoxes" New Statesman A Small Revolution in Germany Philip Hensher 3.1 out of 5 11 reviews "...Hensher exhibits pitch-perfect control of the narrative with humour, grace and intellectual rigour that is worn lightly on his sleeve" Irish Times Agency Mr William Gibson 3.4 out of 5 10 reviews "...This wild plunge into a world of strange inventions is great fun" The Times Here We Are Oliver Jeffers TBC out of 5 1 reviews "...Jeffers conveys the environmental urgency, without giving them nightmares, through beautiful artwork and a sweet, spare story." The Times Gigs of the Week My Town: David Gentleman in Conversation with Amelia Gentleman London, March 19 Book Signing with Stewart Lee: March of the Lemmings Cambridge, March 20 Karen M. McManus in Conversation Oxford, March 17 Radical Acts of Love: Janie Brown in Conversation with Jackie Kay London, March 20 © 2020 Bookseller Media Ltd.