by Chris Richards. It is estimated that 5000 adults in Southampton are unable to read. A newly launched charity, Read Easy Southampton are offering the opportunity to change that with free, confidential, and local support to all who want to learn. Read Easy Southampton links adults of any age...
Book Review: The Breakup Monologues by Rosie Wilby
reviewed by Chris Richards. Rosie Wilby writes The Breakup Monologues like a letter to a close friend who must get caught up on all the news. Contextualised with discussions and questions asked of knowledgeable friends and acquaintances about why experiences during changing relationships are so important and rewarding to...
Book Review: Eliza Wren and the Multicoloured Peacock by Jennifer Paul
reviewed by Chris Richards. This book is a wonderful portal for children to melt away to elsewhere. Eliza Wren and the Multicoloured Peacock is Jennifer Paul’s debut novel. She is both author and illustrator of a children’s story written with clear morals, particularly the importance of self-belief and benevolence...
Book Review: The Passing of the Forms That We Have Loved by Christopher Boon
reviewed by Chris Richards. Breathless, frustrated, then ultimately a release. Christopher Boon’s fiction debut is an Epic in fewer than 350 pages. The protagonist’s father has terminal cancer, this alongside relationships new and old, all examine dependency, solitude and indecisiveness as main themes. Not for the faint of heart...
Book Review: Mrs England by Stacey Halls
reviewed by Andrew Godsell. As a relaxed reader, it often takes me several weeks to read a book. Occasionally however, I am gripped; such was the case with Mrs England. The 424 pages were consumed in just nine days! It is one of the most atmospheric, and amazing, novels...
Book Review: The Vanishing Encore by Carolyn Ruffles
Reviewed by Chris Richards. Carolyn Ruffles has done it again! The Vanishing Encore is a worthy addition to the romantic thriller genre. Not too heavy or taxing with the right balance of mystery, thrilling twists and romance with heart warming characterisation, desperation, desire, and gentle comedy. The protagonist, Lily...
Book review: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Reviewed by Andrew Godsell. Arundhati Roy (born 1961) became an international sensation with the publication of The God of Small Things, her debut novel, in 1997. The book won the Booker Prize, received rave media reviews (thirty of which, from various newspapers and magazines, are quoted in the copy before...
Book Review: Mum’s The Word by Lorraine Turnbull
reviewed by Chris Richards. Three generations of women eventually find love is unconditional through scandal, murder, and realising what they deserve in life. We are presented; five women, the men that surround them for better and worse, three murders, one scandalous affair, and a few STDs for good measure....
Book Review: Excellent Choice by Grant Sharkey
reviewed by Chris Richards. Excellent Choice: Essays on Trying to be Good in a Horrible World written by Grant Sharkey This is not a book I’d have picked up and read had I not been asked to review it. I may not have read past the first few pages...
Book Review: Knocking On The Wall by Trevor Swistchew
reviewed by Chris Richards. Knocking on the Wall is the author’s recollections of childhood trauma, a lifetime of reactive, destructive behaviour, followed by reconciliation and reflection. Peppered through the book are poems written in close regard of times in Trevor Swistchew’s life as he grew up in Scotland. I...