Category Archives: Award Winner / Nominee
The Gathering by Anne Enright
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Trade, 263 pages, 2007 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: Part of my plan to read all of the Booker Prize Winners. Synopsis: When her brother Liam is found in the sea at Brighton, an apparent suicide, Veronica can’t quite believe it – or maybe she can. He was an alcoholic, something that […]
The Black Echo by Michael Connelly
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Mass market, 482 pages, 1992 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: After having read Connelly’s Harry Bosch series for years I finally decided to start at the beginning of the series. Synopsis: When Detective Harry Bosch is called to the scene of an apparent overdose, things just aren’t adding up for him. Sure, […]
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 470 pages, 2006 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: I loved Fingersmith; The Night Watch is currently on the shortlist for the 2006 Booker Prize. Synopsis: Four restless Londoners, three women and a young man, deal with war-torn life in the 1940s, struggling to find happiness and love in […]
Carry Me Down by M.J. Hyland
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Trade, 334 pages, 2006 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: It’s a Booker Prize long-lister – and I hope it’s soon to be a short-lister, as well. Synopsis: John Egan is an eleven-year-old living in rural Ireland, where life isn’t perfect, but he has his beloved Guinness Book of World Records set to […]
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 317 pages, 2005 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: It was on the Booker Prize Shortlist for 2005. Synopsis: 18-year-old Willie Dunne has settled nicely into his young life – he’s got family he’s close to, he has a wonderful sweetheart, Gretta, who he’s hoping to start a life […]
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available), 438 pages, 2004 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: The 2004 winner of my favourite award, the Booker Prize. Synopsis: In the year 1983, 20-year-old Nick leads what is, to him, a very complicated life. He’s a wannabe trying desperately to fit into a wealthy, politically active family, convinced that he’s […]
Nights Below Station Street by David Adams Richards
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in mass market), 225 pages, 1988 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: Mercy Among the Children was in my Top 10 of 2002, and I finally got around to trying another book by Richards. Synopsis: In small-town New Brunswick, there’s no escaping your neighbours, your reputation, or yourself, much to the […]
The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Trade, 340 pages, 2004 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: My second Booker Prize shortlister read of 2004. Synopsis: In The Electric Michelangelo, Hall guides us through the life of Cy Parks, whose odd upbringing in a hotel filled with the fatally ill seems to have him destined for an unusual life. Cy […]
The Master by Colm Toibin
Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 338 pages, 2004 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize this year. I figured I’d see how many I could read before the prize was announced so I could see if I agreed on the decision, because I’m silly like that. Synopsis: The Master is […]