Book Review: Ash
April 27, 2024
Wallace’s ingenious use of metaphor is poetic and powerful, as is the roar and the restraint in these pages.
Bel likes to read widely around the shelves, but her particular interest lies in literary fiction and non-fiction. Always keen to read and champion writers from Aotearoa and Australia, she keeps a close eye on local publishing as well as international, including a peppering of fiction in translation here and there. She loves reading about messy families, artistic ambition, complex friendships and connection to nature. Favourite authors change weekly, but if pressed, she’d include Kate de Goldi, Elizabeth Strout, Zadie Smith, Eleanor Catton, Helen Garner, Deborah Levy, Robert Macfarlane and Rebecca Solnit.
Wallace’s ingenious use of metaphor is poetic and powerful, as is the roar and the restraint in these pages.
Don’t be fooled by the title – the stories show how sometimes our yearning to be ‘single, carefree, mellow’ can often make us anything but.
Nici is real and generous, and her recipes are varied, simple and delicious. These recipes are designed for one, but can easily be modified.
If you haven’t read a poem since high school, or tried to but felt you were missing something – this is a brilliant place to start.
I was hooked from the electric first chapter! A bright, easy romp through a sweltering summer in 1980s New York.
Great to pick up when you get into bed after a long day and only have a few minutes before your eyes close. Kooky dreams guaranteed!
A brilliantly complex mother-daughter relationship, perfect for fans of her Olive Kitteridge books. Keep your eyes peeled for Easter eggs!
A satire of the sad girl novel genre that gently pokes fun at an aspiring novelist and celebrates female friendship.
The characters worked their way right under my skin, and I happily moved through the quiet moments of their days, noticing small changes
This book is bonkers, devastating and completely spellbinding! I couldn’t look away. An entirely unique portrayal of the outsider.
This memoir provided me with a beautiful escape. I needed a calm harbour and this understated memoir was perfect.
It will make you laugh and cry because it’s zany, delightful, heartfelt and full of truth. One of my favourites that I return to.
You won’t regret reading the original Sally Rooney. A modern classic that’s still completely relevant!
It’s an easy read but full of pathos and memorable moments. This is a book to be passed from woman to woman.
She is courageous in a way I have no desire to be, but deeply admire all the same. I loved spending time with her unusual experiences
Read this delightful debut if you need a good chuckle! It’s a fast but deceptively clever, well-crafted read.
The prose is incredibly understated. It’s stripped back, slowed-down and focused on small moments surrounded by empty space.
I inhaled this warm, funny and occasionally heart-breaking novel about found family set between worn-torn England and sumptuous Italy.
There’s no traditional story arc here, she paints impressionistic moments join together to create a picture of our anxious and absurd times.
McCracken delights in human absurdity and the slippery art of writing about your family – be it fiction or memoir, or both at once.
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