This book is a revelation in showing ways of looking at how our personal history intersects with our collective history. It focuses on the life of a woman in post-WWII France up till the present but conveys a powerful sense of the dominant ideologies of the time. But it‘s also a profound way of looking at memory and personality. I hope it wins the #MBI2019

This #WomensPrize longlisted novel contains such a compelling tale of survival and dynamically explores the meaning of family. Bernice L. McFadden has such admirable control in how she paces and evokes a story I really admired this novel and was captivated by its story.

This dramatic and inspiring memoir by Britain‘s first black chief constable powerfully illuminates the dynamics of racial conflict in England over the past fifty years from someone who was in a very unique position. Such a moving, powerful story about a truly good man!

A conversation between a mother and son after that son‘s suicide will never make light reading, but this novel got at the true humanity of these characters to make me laugh as well as shed a few tears. ❤️

I loved reading this novel! Like the inverse of a series of reminiscences at a funeral, Maurice‘s narrative at this very late stage in his life is the most beautiful tribute to the people who made him who he is and a profound kind of letting go.

The Library Book feels like the most wonderfully intimate conversation for book lovers. It explores the tragic case of the 1986 fire in LA‘s central library and how libraries are still an integral part of our communities.

This short book by Marina Benjamin takes such a unique look at the common affliction of insomnia. She draws upon references from mythology, psychology, art and literature to take a more philosophical look at the condition while also relating her personal experiences with sleeplessness. It‘s also beautifully written!

I really enjoyed this novel which portrays life in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and invites the reader to view history and its portrayal on many different levels. In doing so she sacrifices getting to the heart of some more interesting side stories but the depiction of the king is so compelling in capturing his frustrated rule. A unique and beautifully written novel.

The way this novel rigorously catalogues and artistically renders the frustration and injustice of being raised within a divided war-torn country is admirable. Unfortunately I often found the actual experience of reading it to be frustrating and tedious at times, but I was carried through by sparks of genius that periodically shined throughout the story.

A gripping story that is beautifully written and powerfully political. Washington Black is an astounding novel & a major contender to win the #ManBooker2018

A strikingly sophisticated novel that creatively incorporates a well-known trope from horror movies to say something meaningful about the tragic disconnect in relationships which matter to us the most.

This novel is a really unique form of a dystopian/survival story about three sisters in a dilapidated island estate & the threat of men. I loved it and this quote about declaring independence from your parents: “It has always been that we are what you made us, and so our survival is a tacit endorsement of you, however much we might hate that. But our lives are our lives.”

A powerful collection of imaginative short stories that portray conflict in dramatic & mesmerising ways.

Really enjoyed Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. It‘s quite a poignant story about alienation and social conformity.

This novel about an aging man connecting with asylum seekers in Berlin is just brilliant! It engages with history in such a deeply moving and philosophical way.

I hugely enjoyed this wondrous historical novel with its richly-imagined fantastical story.

I finished reading Elif Batuman‘s novel set over a young woman‘s first year at Harvard in the mid-90s. I felt a lot of nostalgia since I also went to college in Boston during that era. Good touches of absurdist humour about young adulthood & campus life but its meandering plot made me impatient.

This feminist dystopian novel offers a wildly imaginative look at a group of mutants who survive in Earth‘s orbit after a cataclysmic event and a legendary woman who altered the nature of our planet. It‘s quite a ride!

I was totally enthralled & moved by Sally Magnusson‘s debut novel that gives a fictional account of a 1627 pirate raid of Iceland's shores where over 400 people were abducted & enslaved. It‘s a vividly imagined historical novel and a touching meditation on the personal choices we must make in life.

Cassara‘s enthralling debut novel brings to life the first all-Latino house in the 1980s NYC drag ball circuit.

Jamie Quatro‘s new novel Fire Sermon is an amazing heartfelt story & brilliant meditation on desire. I loved it. 🔥

These short stories are disarmingly frank & brutal but cut right through to the meaning of family and home.

Smith‘s next volume in her seasonal quintet doesn‘t contribute with any characters or storylines from Autumn, but continues in themes and style. A reunion of an estranged family at Christmas encourages talk of art, politics and the forgotten past. It‘s a beautiful meditation on our times.

A beautiful collection of modern day fairy tales. The imaginative exuberance of this collection makes it such an enjoyable and stunningly fascinating book. Jen Campbell‘s writing sits snugly alongside such excitingly inventive modern short story writers such as Kirsty Logan, Jackie Kay, Daisy Johnson or Ali Smith

This novel was the perfect Halloween read for me. A tense emotionally-effective fictional recreation of the story of Lizzie Borden and her parents‘ grizzly murder.

This is definitely one of the most amazing & heartbreaking novels I've read all year! The story of Madhu, a transgender or hijra individual living in Bombay's notorious red light district.

A WWII female diver, gangster-run clubs & shipwrecked sailors. I loved Jennifer Egan's new historical novel Manhattan Beach.

Arundhati Roy's fist novel in 20 years has quite a complicated story saturated with specific political events. It takes dedication, patience & time to read it properly. But it encompasses a vast amount of heartfelt compassion for humanity so I'm immensely grateful for the journey it took me on.

Nicola Barker's new novel is wild even by her standards. A post-post apocalyptic novel which bends narrative where the text leaps off the page, changes font, inflates, overlaps, fizzles, twists backward and shades into different colours. But it also says something powerful about our online lives today.

A powerful depiction of a young woman's experience of xenophobia & Healthcare in modern South Africa.

I loved Toibin's excellent new novel which retells the myth of Agamemnon & his extremely dysfunctional family. Instead of focusing on the perspective of the warrior king he shows the points of view of his wife and children.

No one writes openings as powerful as Mukherjee does in his novels. This book has a captivating story about a man writing a cookbook, a performing bear & a scholarly maid that meaningfully asks what choices we have in determining our personal freedom in life.

If Joyce Carol Oates were Italian she'd be writing gripping thrillers like this! A coming of age story and mystery about an abducted girl combined.

A surreal mystery that makes powerful statements about race, privilege & the long-lasting resonance of music.

I enjoyed reading this debut novel about a complex love story which has a tremendously gripping twist.

The End We Start From is powerful & poetic debut novel about life after a catastrophic flooding of London

Prolific Argentinian writer Cesar Aira creates absurdist imagery peppered with philosophical musings in his unique stories. I really enjoyed the madcap journey of this latest novel which questions authenticity & our sense of perspective in a remote monastery.

This debut novel blows the lid off masculinity & it's a wonder of economical writing.

Kanishk Tharoor's exciting new short stories give an imaginative & thoughtful take on history, migration & language.

Linda Grant is a really skilful writer. I greatly enjoyed this novel about life in a 1950s sanatorium with a surprising lesbian love story at its centre.

Reading this I learned never judge a book by its cover: this novel contains a lot of depth & darkness.

Extremely enjoyed this novel which creatively maps a complex relationship. Particularly recommended for Anne Tyler fans.

What an immense pleasure it is reading this intelligent and atmospheric novel. Vivid descriptions & vibrant memorable characters. It's as intricate and beautiful as its cover.

Excellent debut novel is adventurous, thoughtful, funny, weird, moving and it turns the sky purple!

The gripping story of this debut novel intelligently portrays the demise of a relationship under social pressures.

George Saunders' debut novel is wild, hilariously funny, devastatingly sad and consistently surprising. It's just brilliant.

Beautifully realised scenes of humanity amidst horrific conflict in Nadeem Aslam‘s accomplished new novel.

John Boyne's new novel is a stunning epic about an ostracised gay man's journey and the social changes in Ireland over 70 years.

Alice Oswald accepting the Costa Book Award for Poetry last night. Falling Awake is beautiful book filled with curious insights into how we perceive the world.

This new novel is an intelligent, complex portrait of the lives of modern Muslim women and a wonderfully immersive story.