bookswelike

bwl 119 - Winter 2026

Fiction

John Banville - The Singularities

Freddie (see The Book of Evidence, blw 110) now out of gaol, calling himself Felix Mordaunt, returns to the house where he believes he grew up, now inhabited by the family of a famous/infamous scientist, Godley. Lodging in the housekeeper's cottage, Felix observes the goings-on in the big house, where Godley's resident biographer Jaybey loves Godley's daughter Helen and discovers his widow in the attic. Wonderfully handled entanglements, big questions about the nature of reality, a splendidly complex yarn - Banville at his best! (Annabel Bedini)

S J Bennett - Murder Most Royal

Do you like ‘cosy crime’? I do – and I have just discovered S J Bennett . This is definitely cosy with the late Queen as the main protagonist and solver of the who-done-it. It is handled with affection and a bit of tongue-in-cheek and I am finding them thoroughly enjoyable. This is the third in the series – I am now trying number 1. No edge- of- the -seat chases here so sit back for a wander through protocol and royal residences – but with a very sharp witted and intelligent ‘detective’. (Ferelith Hordon)

Geraldine Brooks - Caleb's Crossing

I am a fan of Brooks’ writing but enjoyed this a little less than others. It is set in the 1600’s, after Europeans arrived in North America and started oppression of its native people. It is about both sets of people; their lives and their values, particularly spiritually. It is interesting from a historical perspective but I struggled a little feel the emotions and strife of the characters as written. (Ros Cook)

Jon Canter - A Short Gentleman

The very English son of an eminent judge is born with a silver spoon - upmarket background, Winchester, Oxford, Inns of Court - his dispassionate intellect applied with equal success to the pursuit of a legal career and the establishment of a socially suitable personal life. But the people in his life are not cut from the same idiosyncratic cloth and problems inevitably arise. An amusing and witty narrative, populated by a memorable cast of characters and drawing its comedy from the collision of the main character's nature with the world around him, adds up to an entertaining novel. (Tony Pratt)

Sally Carson - Crooked Cross

This intimate novel about a German family in Bavaria in 1932/3 was published in 1934. Carson was British but knew Bavaria well and was aware of the lack of purpose for many, young men particularly, that Hitler was all too happy to exploit. It starts with an almost perfect Christmas Eve scene, snow falling, the house decorated but with a photo of Hitler on the piano – a warning of what is to come. (Christine Miller)

Trent Dalton - Boy Swallows Universe

A seamy-sided world view of life and it's problems. Seen through the eyes of a Brisbane 13 year old. However, this isn't Huck Finn. It's darker, but paradoxically uplifting. The descriptions are vivid, and the reader is placed in a bleaker part of the city. You empathize with the people. A compelling read, voted number one by Aussie readers in one newspaper poll. (Herb Roselle)

Louise Doughty - A Bird in Winter

A woman on the run. One minute, she's in a meeting in her office in Birmingham - the next, she's walking out on her job, her home, her life. As she tries to work out who exactly is on her trail, she must also decide who - if anyone - she can trust. Feel like a nice twisty teaser? This might fit the bill. (Jenny Baker)

Sarah Dunant - The Marchesa

I always await Dunant’s Italian Renaissance novels with some impatience and this latest one about Isabella d’Este, the first female art collector and patron of her time, fulfils my high expectations. Full of scholarly research – only her correspondence remains intact in the archives in Mantua - you are transported to her turbulent time through a clever device that recognises how much women’s contributions have failed to be recognised in the past. (Christine Miller)

Tan Twan Eng - The House of Doors

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng Kuala Lumpur and Penang in 1910 and the 1920s, Dr Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary and founder of the Republic of China, together with the life of W Somerset Maughan are the backbone of this fictional but fact-based story. Add to that a real life whodunnit, romantic intrigue (homo and heterosexual) and a study of marriage and relationships in general, and you have a very accomplished book. Sun Yat Sen (d. 1925) spent much time in Hertfordshire at the Cottered country home of his lifelong supporter and life-saver, the physician, Sir James Cantlie. The 100th anniversary of his death was commemorated at the Cottered Parish Church of St John the Baptist. (Ros Cook)

Louise Erdrich - Love Medicine

This is the first of Erdrich's novels about American Indians and my goodness it's an eye-opener. I got confused by her way of jumping from character to character and generation to generation, but it didn't matter, building up like a wonderful, colourful patchwork quilt. Hopes, fears, loves, deaths, traditions in a disgracefully marginalised but steadfastly resiliant community. Highly recommended. (Annabel Bedini)

Jane Gardam - God on the Rocks

A very entertaining story set in a 1930's coastal town, revolving around eight year old Margaret Marsh and her gradual discovery of life beyond the confines of home. Gloriously eccentric characters emerge - her bank manager father who preaches the gospels on the beach, her airy fairy mother who has just had a baby boy, and down- to- earth Lydia (a hired maid) who takes Margaret on 'adventures'. Backstories are revealed, a tragedy occurs and Margaret's eyes are opened to the frailties of us all. (Mary Standing)

Matt Haig - How to Stop Time

The novel is as much fable as fantasy, narrated by a 400 yr old man born in France with a condition that has prevented him aging as other mortals. His experiences through several centuries and regions of the world, and his reflections on what it is to be alive, its opportunities and challenges , are engaging. It is imaginative, clever and ultimately both moving and wise. (Margaret Teh)

Kristin Hannah - The Women

More strong women in extraordinary circumstances from Hannah. This book follows combat nurses in Vietnam and their attempts to resume normal life on return to the US. Their efforts were disregarded or seen as shameful as the horror and failure of the war became clear. The combat nursing is brutal but the book succeeds in describing little known circumstances in recent history, at a time when PTSD was not yet medically recognised and civil and women’s rights were nascent. (Ros Cook)

Florence Knapp - The Names

A once-in-a-generation debut from a major new talent, The Names is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. Sounds a bit contrived? Well, yes it is but it's a fascinating and compelling read. (Jenny Baker)

Marc Levy - The Last of the Standfields

Two strangers, one in London the other in New York, receive an anonymous letter detailing a murky episode in their mothers’ past. So begins a convoluted tale of love, intrigue and betrayal as together they try to find the truth. It’s an intriguing set-up but would a woman really call her daughter Eleanor Rigby? (Jenny Baker)

Ian McEwan - What We Can Know

It’s 2119, most of the UK”s lowlands have been inundated by a catastrophic tsunami, now a lone scholar searches the archives in search of a lost poem composed in 2014 by a famous poet in homage to his wife. Both a literary thriller and a love story, it poses profound questions about who we are and where we are going. My book group was divided between absolutely loving it and wanting to throw it out of the window! (Jenny Baker)

Katherine Rundell - Impossible Creatures: The Poisoned King

Yes, it is number 2 in Rundell’s fantasy series for any readers 8 + - and it is just as exciting and immersive as her introduction to the world of Glamourie, the hidden Archipelago which is the home of all the fantastic beasts populating myths and medieval bestiaries. Don’t read expecting nice creatures (Ferelith Hordon)

Ocean Vuong - The Emperor of Gladness

Vuong’s second novel (read his first one before this one if you haven’t!). There are some familiar themes, but this wonderful, intense book is mostly about the diverse forms that love, family and friendship can take under the brutal conditions of late capitalism, and specifically for the working class in the USA. Addiction, pain, exhaustion and illness are the normal in these lives, told in a refreshing style as a reminder that there is no "normal" anymore. If there ever was... (Sally Gutierrez Diaz)

Non-Fiction

Helen Carr - Sceptered Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century

An immensely readable account of England in the fourteenth century with its kings front and centre and conflicts in Britain and France, the Black Death and Peasant's Revolt their context. The kings and their often influential wives and favourites come vividly to life. The troubled reigns of Edward II and Richard II ended in violent death while Edward III, with his miltary successes and cult of chivalry, and Henry IV were altogether more considerable figures, the latter bringing the Plantagenet dynasty to a dramatic end (Tony Pratt)

Christopher Clark - A Scandal in Konigsberg

Recherché is perhaps the most apposite word to describe this intimate study of the sensational accusations of sexual incontinence, professional rivalries and betrayals of trust in the sleepy East Prussian capital in the 1840’s. The result of many years of fascination with this strange case, the author draws you into the vortex of turbulence that would alarm the Prussian authorities for whom it represented the sort of moral collapse that they feared most. Curiously intriguing! (Jeremy Miller)

Guliano da Empoli - The Hour of the Predator Encounters with the Autocrats and Tech Billionaires Taking Over the World

This time, political analyst da Empoli has eschewed fiction (see The Wizard of the Kremlin, bwl.117) and used his expertise to analyse the present situation. Comparing us with the Aztecs confronting the Spanish invasion, he illustrates how our politicians and institutions are finding themselves impotent in the face of the real wielders of power, the billionaire 'tech bros', and their autocratic enablers (the combination of Musk and MBS). A world without ethics or agreed rules for civil cohabitation. Extremely readable, terrifyingly convincing! (Annabel Bedini)

Norman Davies - Vanished Kingdoms:

Do you like travelling across Europe? Do you wish sometimes to be able to look a bit deeper into the history of the place where you find yourself? To be able to understand the often complex course of the boundaries between countries? This book is very entertaining and full of astonishing facts which lay beneath the commonly known European history. An eye opener to our so interesting continent! It is very readable and written with great empathy. To recommend! (Dorothee Dietrich)

Laura Freeman - Ways of Life: Jim Ede and the Kettle’s Yard Artists

Jim Ede led a singular life as a collector of objects and an enthusiast for modern art. He had sufficient self-realisation to know that would not succeed as an artist himself. Instead, as Laura Freeman’s account reveals, his innate curiosity and early good fortune to ‘inherit’ Henri Gaudier-Brezeska’s life’s work, set him on a curatorial path which culminated in the eclectic collection in Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge which he enthusiastically shared with generations of undergraduates*. *Editor’s note: including the reviewer when he was up at St Johns in the late 1960’s (Jeremy Miller)

Hisham Matar - A Month in Siena

I read this soon after a spending a few days in Siena with my husband when we too had explored and appreciated the art and architecture. I enjoyed sharing his visit and his responses to the art that had come to mean so much to him over the years after the abduction of his father. Despite his grief over the loss, contemplating these paintings gave him hope about the importance of art, life and love. (Christine Miller)

Matthew Parker - One Fine Day

September 1923, when having acquired responsibility for Palestine, the Empire reached its maximum extent. But underneath it was already in decline. 'Empire' has become an ideological battleground and this is no exception. often with a harsh perspective, but compelling accounts of individual stories: Nehru and E M Forster in India, Grimble in the Pacific and Orwell in Burma among them, as well as accounts of Australia, Canada and Egypt and the rest make it a fascinating read, rich in detail. (Tony Pratt)

Janina Ramirez - Femina: A new history of the Middle Ages, through the women written out of it

These are the life stories of a collection of extraordinary women, illustrating their influence and worth within the Middle Age cultures in which they lived. The reader is encouraged to rethink the role of women in history. These women include Vikings, nuns, needleworkers (Bayeux Tapestry), noblewomen, royalty, mystics and Cathars. This is a very detailed work. I found it interesting, even enlightening, but did get swamped by detail at times. (Ros Cook)

Gareth Russell - Queen James: A New History About the Life and Loves of Britain’s First King, James Stuart

This is a very human approach to the male and female loves, some sexual, of King James, a rather over-looked monarch. It is packed with the results of detailed research, recounted in an accessible, sometimes humorous, fashion. My original interest was James’ connection to my adopted home town, Royston, but most interesting was the epilogue, explaining James’ influence on the British monarchy, through to the present. (Ros Cook)

Poetry

Matt Goodfellow - Now We Begin

Poetry for younger readers can be disappointing. So much seems to rely on laighter that is embarrassing. Not in this case. Matt Goodfellow looks at what it is to be a teenager progressing fro that nervous transition to Year 8 then on to Year 11. It is not always comfortable; but being a teen is not always comfortable. Indeed there are moments that are heart breaking. This is poetry to reach those young readers. (Ferelith Hordon)