I love this book so much I don’t know how to describe it. It’s blisteringly easy to read: finish one chapter and skip to the next to skim the opening page, only to find yourself finishing the whole thing and skipping to the next chapter to skim that. It’s packed with funny asides. Frida Kahlo …
The Red Casket
I’m not a big fan of multi-volume sagas, but I’m making an exception for Del Toro Moon, Darby Karchut’s Middle Grade stories of the Colorado family that fights ancient demons with the aid of... talking Andalusian war horses. I wrote in my review of the first book that it might sound too Disney-cute for words. …
Mrs Slocombe's Pussy
Stuart Jeffries is a little younger than I am, but we both grew up in the UK watching pretty much the same programmes on TV. Too many to list here, but Bill & Ben, Are You Being Served?, The Liver Birds, Coronation Street, Steptoe and Son and Fanny Craddock should give you a good idea …
The Lie Tree
I was intrigued by the title, expecting some dark fantasy, but got caught up in the plight of a girl in Victorian times, when females were destined – by law and society – for nothing more than marriage. The story revolves around a mysterious plant that feeds on lies. It’s the key to a tale …
