Book reviews

77 Articles
Vigil Harbor - a review by Debra Bradley
Book reviewsFiction

Vigil Harbor

Julia Glass is one of my go-to writers. So, fresh from reading The Widower’s Tale, I was delighted to see that she has...

The Widower's Tale - a review by Debra Bradley
Book reviewsFiction

The Widower’s Tale

The central character in this novel is Percy Darling, a sprightly 70-year-old man, who has mostly kept to himself since his wife died...

Eddy, Eddy - book review by Debra Bradley
Book reviewsFiction

Eddy, Eddy

I love the set up of Eddy, Eddy … a young guy living with his uncle Brian in Christchurch, embarrassed by him but...

A review of 'Going AWOL' by Mary Somervell.
Book reviewsNon-fiction

Going AWOL

At first glance, ‘Going AWOL’ is a celebration of the walking, kayaking, diving and other activities available in beautiful natural environments around New...

Commonwealth - book review by Debra Bradley
Book reviewsFiction

Commonwealth

This novel begins with a bright, breezy tone – a district attorney at a loose end on a Sunday turns up uninvited at...

Groundskeeping - book review by Debra Bradley
Book reviewsFiction

Groundskeeping

I liked this book from the first sentence. Groundskeeping is an authentic and smart novel in the voice of a man in his...

Book reviewsFiction

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

I circled around this book for several months – checking it out in the bookshop, but not buying it – at 800 pages,...

Book reviewsFiction

The Lincoln Highway

The characters who travel the Lincoln Highway in this novel spring off the page. The first ones we meet have arrived from a...

Book reviewsFiction

One Two Three

Bourne could be any town in the world where an industrial activity discharged dodgy effluent to a river, with the people responsible departing...

Sweetgirl - book review by Debra Bradley
Book reviewsFiction

Sweetgirl

Sixteen-year-old Percy has an unreliable mother – she's been missing for nine days, and may right now might be flaked out in the...