Michael Arditti
Meeting the Other
The old adage about not judging a book by its cover should be amended, in the case of Matthew Kneale’s latest, to not judging it by its blurb. Nowhere is there any indication that this is a collection of short stories. On the contrary, it is described simply as a ‘new work’, and the diversity of the settings, from Europe to North and South America, to Africa and the Middle East, is made to seem the expansiveness of a single fiction.
Such equivocation does a disservice to Kneale by suggesting that the many admirers of his exceptional novel English Passengers will be unwilling to follow him on to the smaller canvas. It does a disservice to the reader, who will be under the impression that he or she is embarking on
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'Rivalries are intense and dangerous, and someone has to die.'
@NJCooper_crime on new thrillers by @HenryCPorter, @k_faulkner, @annafbailey, @mserinkelly, @JoelDicker, @AlanJParks, @whartonswords and more.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/april-2021-crime-round-up
This spring, give the gift of reading.
Give a friend a gift subscription to Literary Review for only £33.50.
https://www.mymagazinesub.co.uk/literary-review/promo/spring21/
'It’s long been known that there is an optimum reproductive window and that women enjoy a considerably shorter one than men. For both sexes this window is opening and closing earlier than it used to.' (£)
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-end-of-babies