Fiona Mozley

A distinctively different book, set in rural West Yorkshire, in a time which may be 21st century Britain, but which seems more like feudal England. The family at the heart of the novel, Daddy, Catherine and Daniel are to a large extent outcasts, living on their wits in a house they built themselves in an unlooked at corner of the landowner's territory. Feudal values take over, and the later part of the book is a shocking one, the ending itself ambivalent and leaving the reader with lots of questions. In many ways plainly written, the description of the natural environment is poetic and evocative.

I've written this too soon after reading the book. I need to digest what I have read, and return to this later.… (mere)

A centuries-old building in Soho, London is the home of a French restaurant on the ground floor, a brothel on the upper floor and a flophouse for the neighborhood’s homeless in the basement. It’s a microcosm of a community threatened by the ambitions of the building’s owner to evict them and redevelop the lot. Relationships intertwine and we get a peek behind the curtain to discover all is not as it would appear. Though initially somewhat reminiscent of Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street series, it lacks the charm and; Full investiture into the narrative is hampered by a distance from the full interior life of any of the characters. A final quibble is that the restaurant is largely ignored in the story— which begs the question as to why it is mentioned at all.… (mere)