Category Archives: Books

Book Review: Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer

Posted on 23 March 2017 by andyq

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen My rating: 5 of 5 stars I told two friends that I was reading a book about a Vietnamese spy living in America after the Vietnamese war and that it was really funny, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Peter Ho Davies’ The Fortunes

Posted on 28 February 2017 by andyq

The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies My rating: 4 of 5 stars The four stories that make up ‘The Fortunes’ travel in time from the first Chinese-American immigrants to North America, at the time of the gold rush and then … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Tabish Khair’s Just Another Jihadi Jane

Posted on 21 November 2016 by andyq

Jihadi Jane by Tabish Khair My rating: 4 of 5 stars How to imagine the unimaginable? Tabish Khair sets himself quite a task, and a particularly relevant one, in asking how young people from around the world have joined the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Patrick Modiano’s Paris Nocturne

Posted on 28 February 2016 by andyq

Paris Nocturne by Patrick Modiano My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’ve been meaning to read something by Modiano since he won the Nobel prize. I finally decided, as I’ve just arrived back in Paris, to start with Paris Nocturnes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Paris, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last

Posted on 21 February 2016 by andyq

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’ve got a long history with Margaret (or Peg as her friends call her). I think I even wrote a university essay on her first book, ‘Surfacing’, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Mary Norris’s Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

Posted on 11 February 2016 by andyq

Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris My rating: 3 of 5 stars I really had some rather high hopes for this book, being a copy editor. It started with great promise, and Norris showed … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life

Posted on 11 January 2016 by andyq

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara My rating: 5 of 5 stars *Non-spoiler review* A deeply emotional, beautifully written novel: full, complex and harrowing. It speaks with depth about our relationships of friendship and love, and also our relationship with … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

The Sze Yap underachievers

Posted on 15 November 2015 by andyq

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and came across a passage that struck me. His theory is that the cultures that cultivated rice paddies, as compared to other crops such as wheat, learned that their success depended not on … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Books, Family | Leave a comment

Book Review: Michael Cunningham’s The Snow Queen

Posted on 9 October 2015 by andyq

The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham My rating: 5 of 5 stars Michael Cunningham has always been one of my favourite authors and his latest book, The Snow Queen, reminded me why: I think it will be one of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Carmen Aguirre’s Something Fierce

Posted on 5 September 2015 by andyq

Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter by Carmen Aguirre My rating: 4 of 5 stars On my last visit home to Vancouver, a friend gave me this book; I think he knows the author. When I first became friends … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Book Review, Books, Review | Leave a comment