Author Archives: andyq

Book Review: Jennifer Egan’s The Candy House

Posted on 5 June 2022 by andyq

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was disappointed with Hanya Yanagihara’s ‘To Paradise’ after I loved ‘A Little Life’ so much and felt the same with Viet Thanh Nguyen’s ‘The Committed’ after the … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Hanya Yanagihara’s To Paradise

Posted on 26 May 2022 by andyq

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara My rating: 2 of 5 stars It’s always difficult, that second book, after the one you fell in love with. Can you read it on its own merits and try not to compare the two? … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Byron Katie’s Loving What Is

Posted on 15 May 2022 by andyq

Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie My rating: 4 of 5 stars In November 2015, I seemed to have marked this book as being on my shelf, and having read it, and I … Continue reading →

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Book review: A.M. Homes’s Jack

Posted on 23 April 2022 by andyq

Jack by A.M. Homes My rating: 3 of 5 stars I remember, back in the days, being very impressed with A.M. Homes’s short fiction, but I lost track of her. In any case, I recently came across ‘Jack’, her first … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Jeanette Winterson’s Lighthousekeeping

Posted on 17 February 2022 by andyq

Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson My rating: 3 of 5 stars For many years, Winterson’s ‘The Passion’ was one of my favourite books. There was a perfect melding of myth and history, poetry and a sweeping romanticism that appealed to the … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Bernhard Schlink’s Flights of Love (short fiction)

Posted on 6 February 2022 by andyq

Flights Of Love by Bernhard Schlink My rating: 4 of 5 stars What I like about a collection of short stories, over, say, a novel, is that the landscape is wider, if not necessarily as deep. So, with these stories, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Armistead Maupin’s Mary Ann in Autumn

Posted on 14 January 2022 by andyq

Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin My rating: 3 of 5 stars I loved the original Tales of the City series. As a much younger man, they made me imagine San Francisco, and what it might be like to … Continue reading →

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Book review: Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You

Posted on 1 January 2022 by andyq

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney My rating: 4 of 5 stars I watched ‘Normal People’ and loved it but hadn’t read any of Sally Rooney’s work until just recently. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found … Continue reading →

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2021 in lists: concerts & shows, theatre, books, movies, TV

Posted on 31 December 2021 by andyq

Movies (seen in the cinema) Bonjour Tristesse. Read some grumpy words about this here.  La Dolce Vita. Read some grumpy words about this here.  Possessor. A movie from David Cronenberg’s son, Brandon, I brought husband because it was described as … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Christos Tsiolkas’s Dead Europe

Posted on 1 December 2021 by andyq

Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas My rating: 2 of 5 stars I remember that I could barely read The Jesus Man, finding it pointlessly grungy and shocking. But I loved The Slap: the premise was clever, it was a page-turner, … Continue reading →

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