Category Archives: British Literature

The People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Parry

British Literature

Synopsis: Subtitled: The True Story of a Young Woman [Lucie Blackman] Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo–and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up. Review: I have no idea what the title of The People Who Eat Darkness means, but that was the only thing I found unsatisfying about this riveting true crime read. Lucie Blackman was a British girl who went to Tokyo to pay off her debts working as a hostess, a paid entertainer to Japanese salarymen. She was not a prostitute or…

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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein

British Literature

Synopsis: When her plane goes down in Nazi occupied France, a teenage Scottish spy known only as Verity has just one chance to write her confession before her captors send her off to a concentration camp. Review: Code Name Verity was the best read I have had all year. No contest. (Well, maybe The Devil in Silver.) I seriously just want everyone to feel how I feel when I think about “FLY THE PLANE MADDIE.” I am about to cry and I might just have…

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The Child’s Child by Barbara Vine

British Literature

Synopsis: While working on her PhD thesis on unmarried mothers in British literature, a young woman finds disturbing parallels between a violent work of fiction from the mid-20th century and her own life living with her gay brother. Review: Everything I love about Barbara Vine is present in The Child’s Child: a haunting atmosphere, complicated characters, and a sense of urgency to the storytelling that has nothing to do with a jam-packed plot. The book opens with Grace, a PhD candidate living a peaceful life…

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The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

British Literature 1 Comment

Synopsis: After a popular parish council member drops dead from an aneurysm, the bucolic English town of Pagford comes undone over fears about how a new council member might upset the balance of power with the encroachment of council flats from the next town over. Review: The Casual Vacancy isn’t quite as high concept as JK Rowling’s more familiar works, but most good novels defy my particular brand of glib summarization. I always enjoy a complicated soap opera and I appreciated how deftly Rowling wove…

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The Politics of Breastfeeding by Gabrielle Palmer

British Literature

Synopsis: Subtitled: When Breasts are Bad for Business. Review: The Politics of Breastfeeding is a history of the ways in which breastfeeding is challenged by societal constructs and business entities. For example, a large portion of the book outlines the ways in which formula manufacturers have spend (and continue to spend) billions of dollars to win customers. That’s not so different than any corporation–except these companies are coming up with ways to prevent mothers and babies from being able to breastfeed. In the case of…

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The Playdate by Louise Millar

British Literature

Synopsis: A single mom decides to return to work, inciting a chain of events that puts her daughter in jeopardy. Review: The Playdate felt like a great follow up to Gone Girl. It’s not that they are so similar in terms of plot or genre. But they both built great suspense from intimate relationships, and had plenty of twists and turns. I also really loved the way the book dealt with the stresses faced by working moms in the creative sector. It’s so competitive and…

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Misfortune Cookie by Michele Gorman

British Literature

Synopsis: When Hannah moves to Hong Kong to be with her boyfriend, she’s frustrated, disappointed, and paranoid to find out that he’s spending more time with his hot boss in Ho Chi Minh City than with her–and she’s desperate to make sure she hasn’t made a mistake. Review: Misfortune Cookie is a sweet chick lit romance that kept my interest. I actually really felt for Hannah’s situation, even though I occasionally got frustrated with her for vocalizing her paranoia in such an obvious way. I…

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The St. Zita Society by Ruth Rendell

British Literature

Synopsis: When the servants of the residents of a tony London neighborhood get together to try to improve their collective lot, they have no way of knowing that their cozy way of life is about to explode–thanks to the secrets they’re all protecting. Review: The St. Zita Society took some time for me to warm up to it, mainly because there was no one I felt like I could connect with. But Rendell is such a brilliant writer that she kept me interested, and when…

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The Vault by Ruth Rendell (Inspector Wexford)

British Literature

Synopsis: An underground vault with four bodies is found underneath a picturesque London home–and one of them was put in there much later. Review: I love Ruth Rendell but I was really bored by The Vault, a sequel of sorts to A Sight for Sore Eyes, which I really enjoyed. I think it’s that I don’t really care for Inspector Wexford as a character. I’ve read a few of those books and I haven’t liked a single one. I also found the mystery just not…

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The Face of Trespass by Ruth Rendell

British Literature

Synopsis: A poverty-stricken writer flees a failed affair, but things may have already gone too far. Review: The Face of Trespass is an early novel by one of my favorite writers, Ruth Rendell. It’s a short book and a quick read, yet packed with psychological complexity and fascinating characters. I loved the hermeticism of Gray’s world and his believably strange relationship with his French stepfather Honoré. Not as transcendent as some of her best works (Judgment in Stone in particular) but well worth the read.

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