Big Kiss, Bye-Bye
Bennett’s writing about love and memory catches you mid-air.
Fiction
19 books
Mostly novels that do something unexpected with form or voice. Primarily from small presses, often slim, often in translation.
War and Turpentine
Spanning multiple war-ridden decades of the 20th century, Hertmans’ lovingly layered reconstruction of his grandfather's life is an ambitious undertaking, flawlessly executed.
Open City
Open City is a novel that reads like a great essay might, pulling in references to art, music, literature and history, weaving in facts and stories, building a collage that invites further discovery beyond its pages.
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
The perfect balance between humour and heartbreak: a vivid portrait of childhood innocence set against a backdrop of a family’s quiet collapse.
It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over
I finished reading this book more than a week ago and it keeps running loops inside my mind, its eyes glazed over, its arms outstretched before it.
The Alternatives
A cleverly composed family novel about care and climate.
The Repeat Room
In this frightening society of interchangeable robes, telescreens and plastic trays, much of the writing lands with the potency of a punch in the stomach.
Orbital
Writing that feels like it glitters and levitates.
