I'm a strong believer that some books just come to you precisely when you need them. This is exactly what happened for me with Where The Crawdads Sing. I'd been aware of the novel's popularity for a while, but only on the periphery of my consciousness: 2019 was a busy year for me, and London life ...
Queenie: A Laugh Out Loud Tragedy
The Ancient Greeks used to separate comedy and tragedy: you'd either go and have a good laugh at a lighthearted tale about a blundering fool, or combine a serious moral lesson with a good cry at the downfall of some proud hero. Even in Shakespearean times one generally went to see a play about one ...
The Dutch House: Paradise Lost in Pennsylvania
A cautionary tale that explores what it is to have everything, and then to lose everything. The obsession that comes from having something taken from you, and the inability to move on. At the centre of this family drama lies The Dutch House: more a piece of artwork than a home, which seems to "float ...
Burial Rites: Murder in Iceland
Murder, fire, ice... Burial Rites follows the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last person to be executed in Iceland before the death penalty was abolished in 1928. Read this if you... Can't get enough of Nordic noir, Scandi crime or, like me, are just generally obsessed with Iceland and ...
Hiking the Ōmanawanui Track, New Zealand
Hiking the Ōmanawanui Track, New Zealand (last updated 12 December 2024). Auckland may be New Zealand’s big city, but that doesn’t mean that you have to feel cut off from nature. The wild west coast, less than an hour’s drive from Auckland itself, is full of beautiful hiking tracks. The North Island ...
