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Review: The Birdcage
An atmospheric Cornish setting with secrets galore make this an engrossing and intriguing story. Three half-sisters, Flora, Kat and Lauren all have different mothers and the same father Charlie Finch. Charlie is an artist and his mother owned a house in Cornwall called Rock Point. They used to visit their Granny and Father in…
Read MoreThe Women’s Prize 2022
The Women’s Prize for Fiction is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award celebrating & honouring fiction written by women. This year’s winner was announced as The Book Of Form And Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki. Our review is below, along with the rest of the very strong shortlist from this year. Ozeki’s latest breathtaking novel…
Read MoreReview: The Big Goodbye
Sam Wasson revisits one of the most pivotal moments in American film history – the making of Chinatown. 1974’s Chinatown, which starred Jack Nicholson and was directed by Roman Polanski, is widely regarded as a turning point in both the style and method of filmmaking in America. Behind the scenes of this groundbreaking motion…
Read MoreAnnette’s Devon Bookshelf
Annette Shaw is a freelance journalist with 30 years of experience, and has a regular column in Devon Life, sharing her pick of brilliant books with Devon connections.With her reputation for championing books and authors around the county, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to showcase her reviews here. Tea At The Palace By Carolyn…
Read MoreReview: Fake
A timely novel about truth and deception in our digital lives by the award winning author of Boy 87 which was a huge hit with young adult readers. Imagine a world where your only friends are virtual, and big tech companies control access to food, healthcare and leisure. This is Jess’s world but when…
Read MoreReview: Shadowlands
Shadowlands is an exploration of places in Britain which have disappeared – by plague, economic change and development and, most dramatically, by flood. Matthew Green tells the stories of well known examples such as Dunwich and St Kilda as well as lost places whose histories are less familiar. They are all poignant; ruins only…
Read MoreLost Classics Rediscovered
There’s something uniquely exciting about discovering an old novel which is revered but has been out of print, and is revived by publishers for a new generation to discover. The two recent rediscovered gems below are well worth picking up.
Read MoreReview: Meditations in an Emergency
A welcome re-issue of an iconic classic of 1950s poetry. “It is easy to be beautiful; it is difficult to appear so. I admire you, beloved, for the trap you’ve set. It’s like a final chapter no one reads because the plot is over.” Made famous in recent years due to the TV series…
Read MoreAnnette’s Devon Bookshelf
Annette Shaw is a freelance journalist with 30 years of experience, and has a regular column in Devon Life, sharing her pick of brilliant books with Devon connections. Annette writes: “Books have been a lifelong passion. I was lucky with my early home life as we had bookshelves in every room as well as reading…
Read MoreReview: Villager
Westcountry-based nature writer Tom Cox’s first full-length novel is full of treats and surprises, and touches on the inter-connectedness of us all. Villager follows the history and fortunes of a fictional Devon village, spanning from its distant past to the near future. Seamlessly woven into the landscape and personalities is the influence of an…
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