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.
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Book ReviewsA Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
There’s nothing vainglorious in this, the Pulitzer Prize winner’s latest. It's a very American thing: there’s Abby and Red Whitshank, ... Read more »| 03 Feb 2015 -
Book ReviewsThe Longest Fight by Emily Bullock
Set against the backdrop of gritty post-war London, The Longest Fight tells the story of former boxer Jack Munday. As a teenager, Jack had no optio... Read more »| 02 Feb 2015 -
Book Reviews
My Dear Bessie by Chris Barker and Bessie Moore, edited by Simon Garfield
We’ve had a glimpse of this captivating love story before. A scant selection of the wartime letters between Chris Barker and Bessie Moore were interlea... Read more »| 02 Feb 2015 -
BooksNorthwest Book Highlights – February 2015
The month of love ushers in some of the finest poetry around, the undisputed face of spoken word and a romantic literary walk, as musical and poetic rhythms join together Read more »| 02 Feb 2015 -
Book Reviews
The First Bad Man by Miranda July
Cheryl Glickman, lead lady in indie filmmaker Miranda July's debut novel, bumbles through life as a chaotic bundle of neurotic ticks and bad habits. A lot of... Read more »| 30 Jan 2015 -
FeaturesCriminal Enterprise: Helen Fitzgerald on her new novel The Exit
Helen Fitzgerald is no stranger to breaking taboos in her novels. She follows the infanticide of The Cry with equally sinister happenings in The Exit. She explains how these dark and provocative tales develop Read more »| 30 Jan 2015
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Features
Poetry in Image: Jenni Fagan on taking The Panopticon to the screen
The Skinny speaks to Jenni Fagan in the pause between the 2013 publication of her outstanding and controversial debut novel and the release of its film adaptation - hopefully with controversy still to come. Read more »| 13 Jan 2015 -
Features
The Brontë Sisters: Feminist Trailblazers?
As we approach the 160th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s death, Liverpool University will this month explore the works of the three Brontë sisters in a series of events. We were inspired to consider their feminist legacy Read more »| 07 Jan 2015 -
Book ReviewsEuphoria by Lily King
We start with an ominous shape, a pale brown thing being thrown at a canoe. The shape may be a baby, discarded by the murderous Mumbanyo tribe, but our prota... Read more »| 05 Jan 2015 -
Book Reviews
Behind God's Back by Harri Nykänen
A businessman gets shot on his doorstep in Helsinki one morning, and this apparently simple homicide lights up a web of connections and corruption that leads... Read more »| 02 Jan 2015 -
Events
Northwest Book Highlights – January 2015
The local book club is on the ascent – we pick a few of the best, while events include Knausgaard and Renberg in an evening celebrating Scandinavian writing Read more »| 01 Jan 2015 -
Features
Gothenburg Book Fair: Looking for the next big thing
Can we expect a 'feelgood' future post Nordic noir? Everyone is attempting to predict literary trends at Scandinavia’s largest book fair, where gangster rap memoirs, long lost leftist tomes and feminist comics vie to be the next big hit Read more »| 31 Dec 2014 -
Book Reviews
The Alphabet of Birds by S. J. Naudé
SJ Naudé's short story collection The Alphabet of Birds tells tales of the South African diaspora, of people hurled from home and scattered across the... Read more »| 31 Dec 2014 -
Book Reviews
Wolf Winter by Cecila Ekbäck
Rather than being a translation, Cecilia Ekbäck’s debut was written in English straight off, but the rhythm can feel as if someone has Tippex... Read more »| 30 Dec 2014 -
Book Reviews
Crow Bait by Douglas Skelton
A gory and razor-sharp crime novel from the start, Douglas Skelton’s Crow Bait moves at breakneck speed like a getaway car on the dark streets of Glasg... Read more »| 08 Dec 2014