The Night Ship tells two stories, both from the perspective of a motherless child, both bound to the inhospitable seas and islands off the western…

The sole protagonist, Amos Decker, must be growing on the author, as this novel is the seventh in the Decker series. Most of the author’s…

When does guilt by association end? In this heart-wrenching sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, 91 year old Gretel Fernsby has been running…

Britt-Marie Was Here, in classic Fredrik Backman fashion, is a novel ultimately about community and coming into oneself. Backman has always written incredibly tender and…

I read this novel some years ago, after the film was released in 2008, and found, generally, the film true to the book. There was…

One of the most pleasant tasks at the SMSA library is the inventory of books (or stock taking), as it not only allows the staff…

This book is a love-letter to libraries, and all who work in them. It is based on the extraordinary true story of the Bethnal Green…

There are books that make you want to delve deeper into a subject and those that wrap you in a big hug and prove to…

It’s impossible not to empathise with Peggy Smart. At almost 80 years of age, she knows that women her age become invisible, turning ‘completely neutral,…

The Labyrinth is a meditation on mother-love, guilt, grief and healing. We accompany Erica on her journey, both emotional and physical, as she retreats to…

Belatedly I have just discovered the wonderful literature of this deceased author Walter Tevis.  Having ignored the recent Netflix series made of the novel (though…

Jonathan Coe mixes reality with fiction in this book which is an unapologetic love-letter to the titular Billy Wilder, one of the greatest film directors…