Book Review: Early Sobrieties
December 3, 2024
This is a spare, affecting picture of a young man trying to pin his fragile sobriety to a version of self and future that he can believe in.
Renata reads mostly fiction, especially novels and short stories from the broad church that is slipstream. Dearly beloveds include George Saunders, Toni Morrison, Mikhail Bulgakov, Ali Smith, Colston Whitehead, Louise Erdrich, Elizabeth Knox, Kelly Link, Alan Garner, Lydia Millet, Geraldine McCaughrean . . . She could go on and on — and if you meet her in the bookshop, she quite possibly will.
This is a spare, affecting picture of a young man trying to pin his fragile sobriety to a version of self and future that he can believe in.
Pullman’s propulsive storytelling works on so many levels and his nuanced, unforgettable characters burst off the page.
The main trio constitute more proof – if any was needed – that Erdrich writes some of the best young adults in contemporary fiction.
Meet literature’s most delightful amphibian odd couple! These stories are a pitch-perfect blend of gentle comedy and insightful observation.
The eloquently evoked sights, smells and turns of phrase serve to amplify the silence and inhibition that underpin all the characters.
Where lesser novels try to disguise a lack of substance, Pokwatka chooses to explore the inner worlds that multiple realities can mine.
These prompts encourage philosophers young and old to ponder life’s mysteries, and embrace the idea that not every question has an answer.
The tender – and revelatory – nature of the pair’s relationship is just one of this incredible novel’s many expertly evoked complexities.
More impressionistic than ‘There, There’, this sophomore novel resists the pressure to repeat a winning formula – a pressure to which many breakout novelists succumb.
This is the jazz-infused, speculative crime noir mash-up you didn’t know you were looking for! Sparkling with energy and invention.
The London of the Lockwood & Co series has been hit by a plague of ghosts. Only special children can see them…
In this delightfully audacious novel, Mason combines fiction, nature writing, and more to bring a patch of Massachusetts woodland to life.
This book follows friendships formed, the troubles with school, beloved grandparents, pets, and the value of independence.
SCORPIO BOOKS
Five Lanes, The BNZ Centre
120 Hereford Street
Christchurch Central City
Ph: (03) 379 2882
TELLING TALES
Five Lanes, The BNZ Centre
101-111 Cashel St
Christchurch Central City
Ph: (03) 741 3309
FREE NZ SHIPPING FOR ORDERS OVER $100