Category Archives: Writing

Book Review: Sharon Olds’ Balladz (poetry)

Posted on 30 July 2023 by andyq

Balladz by Sharon Olds My rating: 5 of 5 stars I think I must have discovered Sharon Olds’ book The Gold Cell in my late teens or early twenties, and then worked my way backwards as well as reading her … Continue reading →

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Hi Andy, it’s Andy

Posted on 8 July 2023 by andyq

I had a routine with Andy, whether by email or phone, where I’d immediately greet him with ‘Hi Andy. It’s Andy.’ This amused me inordinately and Andy agreed, telling me once, ‘It never gets old’. Way back in 2011, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Creative Non-Fiction, How to live, Writing | 2 Comments

Book Review: Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem

Posted on 12 June 2023 by andyq

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu My rating: 3 of 5 stars An interesting controversy, I can see, from the reviews on Goodreads. A dear friend recommended this to me, although he said I might not like it, if I’m … Continue reading →

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Book review: Andrew Sean Greer’s Less is Lost

Posted on 17 March 2023 by andyq

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved ‘Less’ so much that I guess four stars is a fall from five. I wasn’t opposed to a sequel to ‘Less’ but what would it … Continue reading →

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Book review: ‘A Little Life’, revisited

Posted on 23 January 2023 by andyq

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara My rating: 4 of 5 stars Spoiler alert: I assume that you have read A Little Life already and like me, are reading more about it to help you make sense of it! Please … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life

Posted on 21 January 2023 by andyq

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara My rating: 5 of 5 stars I posted this review on Goodreads in January 2016 (such a long time ago) and was surprised to see recently that I never posted it here on my … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Ian Hamilton’s The Two Sisters of Borneo

Posted on 22 December 2022 by andyq

The Two Sisters of Borneo by Ian Hamilton My rating: 3 of 5 stars My mother and brother are big fans of this series of detective novels, by Ian Fleming, with the heroine, Ava Lee, a Chinese-Canadian lesbian. And Mom … Continue reading →

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Book Review: David Leavitt’s The Page Turner

Posted on 11 December 2022 by andyq

The Page Turner by David Leavitt My rating: 3 of 5 stars Decades ago, as a young gay man and an aspiring writer, I read ‘Family Dancing’, Leavitt’s collection of short stories, and then ‘Lost Language of Cranes’. I remember … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads

Posted on 9 August 2022 by andyq

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen My rating: 2 of 5 stars I still remember reading ‘The Corrections‘ and then recommending it to everyone I knew. I found it comic, poignant, brilliant and unfortunately relatable, and I was very much swept into … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad

Posted on 19 June 2022 by andyq

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan My rating: 5 of 5 stars I returned for another read of this novel after reading the latest Egan, The Candy House, and thoroughly enjoying it. And I clearly didn’t review … Continue reading →

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