All Books from 2009
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A Golden Age
by Tahmima Anam
In the spring of 1971, Rehana Haque is throwing a party for her two children. What she does not know is that, after today, their lives will change forever. For this is East Pakistan, a country erupting into war.
great book
very good book, enjoyed reading it.
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by
jaygami1986
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Absurdistan
by Gary Shteyngart
Meet Misha Vainberg, aka Snack Daddy, a 325-pound disaster of a human being, son of the 1,238th-richest man in Russia and proud holder of a degree in multicultural studies from Accidental College, USA.
The Funniest Book I've read all year
Just very very very very very very funny.
And it got a well deserved nomination for the Bad Sex in Fiction Awards. Sadly it didn't win, so I hope it wins this!
You can read the bit it got…
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by
adowell
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Ancestor Stones
by Aminatta Forna
Abie returns to Africa to see a coffee plantation left to her by her family. As she stands among its ruined groves she seems to hear the sounds of the past, ‘For here the past survives in the scent of a coffee bean, a person’s history is captured in the shape of an ear, and those precious memories are hidden in the safest place of all. Safe from fire or floors or war. In stories.’
Incredible
Everyone should have a copy of this book.
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by
glorybuster
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Atmospheric Disturbances
by Rivka Galchen
A story about doppelgangers, dogs, weather control and the real-life work of meteorological scientists are all integral to what is really a very simple story about falling out of love and wondering why. Galchen's masterstroke is to make it
funny.
weird but brilliant
you won't often get the chance to read a book like this. Original but captivating, give it a go.
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by
kit_bsm
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Away
by Amy Bloom
Away tells the extraordinary story of Lillian Leyb. Following the murder of her family in a Russian pogrom, Lillian journeys to America alone, determined to make a new life for herself. 1920s New York is heaving with immigrants just like her and Lillian exploits every opportunity it takes to survive.
Fantastic Book
One of the most vibrant and engrossing books i've read in ages. From the depiction of 1920s New York street life to the breathtaking odyssey that Lillian embarks upon, this book is top class from…
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by
Danny Nelson
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Bad Traffic
by Simon Lewis
Inspector Jian, a Chinese cop from the Siberian border, thinks he’s seen it all. But when his student daughter phones him frantic for help, he is pitched into an alien and frightening world – the mean streets of rural England. He needs to hunt down a gang of ruthless people traffickers and he needs to do it fast, but he has two problems: no English and no cash.
loved it
No time to get bored or think about picking up another book - this kept me enthralled right until the end.
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by
marymod
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Blood Tender
by Rachel Ingrams
Blood Tender’s heroine Marlena, is a runaway English girl, who escapes to Sicily and finds work there as a dancer and stripper. The novel is tough, passionate and romantic with a thrilling plot: Marlena falls for Jula, an architect with Romany blood, but their romance is imperilled by Jula’s fascist half-brother Savio and anti-gypsy fury within the local community.
My next lover
This book was certainly different and parts both disturbing and shocking. It was also gripping and tender. The love story was beautiful and real. I so fell in love with Jula. More please Rachel.
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by
alisco
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Broken
by Daniel Clay
Compelling, emotionally engaging fiction of the highest order,
Broken is a gripping story about what happens to a group of neighbours after an act of thoughtless spite sets off a chain of catastrophic events.
Very enjoyable read
Broken is set within and peopled by the various families who call Drummond Square home. Eleven year old Skunk is not the title character, however this is her story. After watching Rick Buckley being…
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by
BookZombie
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Catch a Fish from the Sea (Using the Internet)
by Nasreen Akhtar
Insightful and gripping, this is the true story of the realities of searching for a lifetime partner using the internet. It is the powerful memoir of a thirty-something British Muslim woman of Pakistani origin who embarks upon a remarkable journey of the self, society, soul and love.
loved it!!
Absolutely amazing.Couldn't put it down.A must read!!
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by
Sephy
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Chinese Whispers
by Hsiao-Hung Pai
Everyone has read in recent years and months in both fiction and non-fiction about the immigrants who now keep the UK running – about the people who work on our farms, in factories, hospitals, restaurants and in people’s homes, the people who do all the horrible jobs no British person wants to do.
The "almost-invisibles"
A courageous investigation. Hsiao-Hung Pai brings to the surface a case of mass human exploitation here in Britain about which many people are completely ignorant. She goes undercover to get close to…
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by
Peter Arkell
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Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth?
by Andrew Sims & Joe Smith
This book is a polemic about the excesses of contemporary society and how it is has failed to superintend the earth and carefully nurture and husband its rare natural resources.
I love this book
What a great idea to get such a varied group of people writing on this theme. We know the answer is 'no' so let's do something about it!
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by
saamah
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Feather Man
by Rhyll McMaster
Set in Brisbane during the stultifying 1950s, and moving to grubby London in the 1970s,
Feather Man is about Sooky who, ignored and misunderstood by her parents, is encouraged to make herself scarce and visit Lionel, their elderly next door neighbour. After initially befriending Sooky, Lionel moves towards violation.
A GOOD READ
A gripping story hard to put down. The author very deftly delves into the darker sides of human nature and the characters appear very real. At the same time it is full of sensitive humour and to…
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by
zzimille
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Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction
by Alison MacLeod
In Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction you will meet lovers, would-be lovers and lovers gone wrong. You will discover modern life laid bare and the literature of the past re-imagined. You will travel from the Brighton seafront to the Nova Scotia coast. You will be in Ikea one minute and in the Hayward Gallery the next…
#1 choice
Having read the books on the shortlist: this is a truly gifted author. My #1 choice. Surprised I am commenting to say I am sorry MacLeod did not win.
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by
Ogmios
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Fup
by Jim Dodge
Fup is a tale of two humans, one duck and several vats of home-brewed whisky. Hilarious, heart warming and magical, Fup is a contemporary fable that inspires an almost evangelical fervour in all who read it. It is a work of enormous originality with a giant heart.
All this and great illustrations too.
I really liked this and the illustrations are great.
'fraid to say it but hated Stone Junction.
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by
Fantod
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Gold
by Dan Rhodes
Love and heartbreak are just a sneeze apart for Miyuki Woodward who, adorable but unlucky-in-love, always spends her holidays in the same seaside village. She relishes the solitary daytime walks as much as her evenings with the locals, short Mr Hughes, tall Mr Hughes, Septic Barry and the rest.
Pure dead brilliant. GOLD is great!
Charming and hilarious this is like Amelie but set in a Welsh pub. Full of unexpected twists and great banter, the Dwalves jokes actually had me weeping with laughter. Rhodes is one of our finest…
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by
edityourhead
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I Think There's Something Wrong With Me
by Nigel Smith
If you want to know what your life is worth, just try almost losing it. This is what happened to comedy writer, Nigel Smith, in 2001 after he was rushed to hospital with a potentially fatal brain lesion so big the radiologist assumed he’d died. Understandably, he was quite hacked off.
Don't worry AllanB - it's as good as you think it might be
I read it in one sitting. Repulsed, fascinated, horrified and impressed by Nigel's tenacity. And his wife's criminality. So glad, however, that I wasn't one of the many empyting his various…
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by
cathy
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Imagine This
by Sade Adeniran
Lola is a nine-year-old child who is wrenched from all that is familiar and thrust into village life in Nigeria, a culture so alien and removed from her childhood in Kent, that she is left bereft and adrift.
Great book
This is a book for all to learn from and find a new understanding of life. Great read.
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by
Killa
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Joe The Only Boy in the World
by Michael Blastland
Joe is ten and mentally disabled. He lives in a bubble of misunderstanding and occasional calamity. He’s funny, fascinating, maddening. This remarkable book by his father tells Joe’s story and examines the bigger question - what it means to be human.
A profound reflection on the human condition
Though Michael Blastland tells the story of his son Joe with journalistic flair and with warmth and humour, this book is much more than another parent’s tale of life with an autistic child. Joe is a…
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by
mickfitz
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Love Falls
by Esther Freud
At the heart of
Love Falls is Lara, just seventeen and portrayed with great feeling and empathy. Author Esther Freud gets right inside Lara’s awkward, sensitive teenage head with remarkable skill to portray what happens when Lara’s father, a man she barely knows, invites her to accompany him on holiday and together they leave for Italy.
Love This!
I love this book! It was so filmic, and made me want to go to Italy immediately. We read this at my book group and there was so much to talk about - the atmosphere, the relationship between Lara and…
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by
ericabee
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Maynard and Jennica
by Rudolph Denson
Maynard and Jennica is an entirely unique, twenty-first century love story set in Manhattan. Its protagonists are Maynard Gogarty a native New Yorker, who loves his city and thinks himself perfectly attuned to its idiosyncrasies. Jennica Green is an ambitious and idealistic Californian…
Great read
Really funny original voice, make me laugh outloud. Tounching as well.
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by
kit_bsm
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