BookBlast

Reading around the world this month features new releases and updated classics, taking in folklore, international fantasy, dark comedy and biography. An interior designer stumbles into a medieval parallel world; David Bowie finds reinvention in Cold War Berlin; pre-modern Icelandic legends come to life; a homecoming turns into a chaotic murder mystery; and a timely biography unveils Cold War…

My Dreadful Body is an award-winning debut autofictional novella by Egana Djabbarova. Originally published in Russian and translated into English by Lisa C. Hayden, it is an unsettling, disturbing, strangely absorbing read. I was unsure at first, but I became engrossed. Beautifully written in a strong poetic voice, you can’t help but feel great empathy and admiration for the narrator. (more…)

This month’s Top 5 Books from around the world takes in five distinct voices embracing sun-baked Mediterranean islands, surreal, tech-fused futures and witchy woods among other spaces, as they go behind the masks we wear to explore the fine line between connection and isolation. You Know The Sun Bothers Me by Ryan Falzon (translated by Joe Gatt) is a contemporary ‘millennial dread’ novel set over…

Book prizes are the ultimate tastemakers of the literary world, providing welcome cash to authors; boosting sales for publishers and booksellers; helping readers choose high-quality fiction and nonfiction out of the thousands of books being published annually. A book published by an independent can become an overnight bestseller when awarded a major prize, bringing the author into the spotlight…

Fractured France: A Journey Through a Divided Nation is Andrew Hussey’s latest exploration of French culture and history, published by Granta Books on 11 September. A patchwork of memoir, interviews, cultural references, historic context and actual observations, it is an engaging and informative read. Hussey’s narrative is peppered with references, insights and entertaining anecdotes. The tone is…

Liquid Reflections is a headlong dive into the coming-of-age of Liliane Lijn as an artist. The linear, raw narrative starts in Paris in 1958 where she lands from America. She is just eighteen and enrols in the Sorbonne and École du Louvre. The story ends in London in 1966, having taken in Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Spain and New York. As Lijn goes on her way, she transforms everything from paper…

BookBlast® is delighted to bring you news about this year’s The Children’s Bookshow. The much loved and hugely popular national tour of writers and illustrators of children’s literature brings the joy of books and reading to children across the UK each autumn. A series of free workshops runs alongside the performances in the theatres. “The Children’s Bookshow takes children’s authors to meet tens…