Book Review: The Things We Never Say
May 25, 2026
This novel provides a poignant window into the deep grief and disillusionment many Americans are feeling right now.
This novel provides a poignant window into the deep grief and disillusionment many Americans are feeling right now.
This is a tough, challenging, deeply-felt book by a writer determined to look unflinchingly at pain, trauma and the struggle to heal.
I loved how the narrator is a character in their own right, often poking fun at the reader, and guiding the story with a witty and deft hand.
This is a mewling and meandering story of self-actualisation from the perspective of someone desperate to avoid reckoning with themself.
This novel glides on Wilson’s playful prose, perfectly chosen details, and quirky characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
Jones’s lyrical, sensuous writing skillfully evokes the fierce bond between young women whose strengths and vulnerabilities leap off the page.
This underdog story explores the value of deep friendship and connection – and the fine line that can see these tip over into obsession.
In less competent hands, this mash-up of genres and ideas could get unwieldy fast, but Spufford juggles all the elements with style.
This whodunit doubles as a satire on the publishing industry and is unflinching in its honest portrayal of what being a writer is really like.
This is the first instalment in one of the 21st century’s rare and true classics, and a divinely sumptuous read for days warm and cold.
Though these stories aren’t linked by plot, setting or character, they nevertheless share strong recurrent themes.
A sweeping, intergenerational novel, that has the strength and complexity of women (and their relationships) at its core.
For those that dream of matriarchy, those raised by fierce women, and those that like a story with a little bit of magic.
You might look sideways at this doorstopper and wonder if it’ll deliver, but Danielewski is a hell of a storyteller.
Groff’s writing is rich, without becoming floral. She cuts through layers of complexity with a brief sentence.
An extremely smutty story, following the fun of youth, combined with the horrendous natures of addiction, ending on a redeeming note.
This book will leave you feeling empowered, with each twist offering a subtly layered critique on the hypocrisy of the world around us.
In Brontë’s world, unfiltered and extravagant behaviour fuelled by high emotions has brothers and sisters constantly crossing each other.
A strand of humour runs through the text, & readers of McCurdy’s autobiography will recognise her habit of plainly reporting bleak incidents.
A set of highly unlikable characters who do inappropriate things to stay relevant. Sounds horrible, but this book will put a spell on you.