Books
The Skinny book guide – bringing you book reviews, features, events, reviews and author interviews. Find previews and on the ground reporting from festivals of literature and poetry in Scotland and beyond.
-
Book ReviewsFire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
Jacqueline Crooks' debut Fire Rush is a vibrant journey into clubs, music and culture, set in the late 70s and early 80s between England and Jamaica Read more »| 02 Mar 2023 -
Book ReviewsCouplets: A Love Story by Maggie Millner
A poet takes the intimate form of the couplet to tell a tale of breaking apart and new passion in Maggie Millner's lyrical novel Read more »| 28 Feb 2023 -
EventsScottish Books Events: March 2023
Scotland's international poetry festival StAnza returns, Loud Poets are back, and not one but two members of The Skinny books team launch new work Read more »| 28 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsYour Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns
Priya Guns’ debut is a five-star ride, dripping in vivid sensuality: a Taxi Driver for the Uber generation and a heart-rending tale of queer lust across social strata Read more »| 27 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsWandering Souls by Cecile Pin
Cecile Pin's timely debut novel explores the long history of refugee narratives through the story of three Vietnamese siblings in Thatcherite Britain Read more »| 27 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsOwlish by Dorothy Tse
Dorothy Tse's Owlish is a surreal fairytale that tackles the political reality of Hong Kong through a shifting dreamspace Read more »| 21 Feb 2023
-
FeaturesHome Country: Orsola Casagrande on Kurdistan + 100
Orsola Casagrande introduces Kurdistan + 100, an anthology of speculative fiction which seeks to embed the Kurdish identity in the historical record Read more »| 20 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsBad Cree by Jessica Johns
Jessica Johns' debut is an atmospheric folk horror that examines the impossibility of escaping cultural and familial trauma through the story of a young Cree woman Read more »| 07 Feb 2023 -
EventsScottish Books Events: February 2023
Book festival shenanigans abound at Paisley Book Festival, while Aberdeen hosts the nation's first crime festival of the year, Granite Noir Read more »| 03 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsHijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H
Lamya H's memoir teases out the latent queerness of their Muslim faith, discovering stories of rebel women whose strength, resilience and faith offer inspiration Read more »| 31 Jan 2023 -
Book ReviewsBrutes by Dizz Tate
Dizz Tate's debut novel builds on a history of American coming-of-age fiction, from The Virgin Suicides to We Were Liars, to examine the ferocious claustrophobia of adolescence Read more »| 30 Jan 2023 -
Book ReviewsMiss Major Speaks: The Life and Legacy of a Black Trans Revolutionary
A radical memoir that cuts across the personal and the political to explore Miss Major's groundbreaking work in community organising and HIV/AIDS care Read more »| 25 Jan 2023 -
Book ReviewsThe Book of Desire by Meena Kandasamy
Meena Kandasamy's translation of the seminal Tamil text the Tirukkuṟal uncovers the decolonial and feminist possibilities in the act of translation Read more »| 10 Jan 2023 -
Book ReviewsYour Wish Is My Command by Deena Mohamed
A subtle and subversive graphic novel, Deena Mohamed's Your Wish Is My Command uses magical realism to deftly ground its core in social commentary Read more »| 10 Jan 2023 -
EventsScottish Books Events: January 2023
In January's Scottish books round-up, some excellent debut authors launch their books, while Kirsty Logan and Don Paterson head to Portobello Bookshop Read more »| 09 Jan 2023