Throughout my teenage and early adult years, I experienced episodes of mental illness. Thankfully, it seems to be behind me, but it's not something I’ll ever forget, and I find myself deeply intrigued by the manifestations of those darker aspects in others. Some people hurt themselves and some hurt others, the common thread is the presence of pain and suffering. As heartrending as this reality is, it holds a certain fascination for me, both in real life and in literature. That’s why I write about it; that’s why I read about it.
My book centers on Ben Green, a man struggling with circumstance: losing a parent, having an unloving partner, and horrible colleagues. It’s taking a toll, and the voice in his head tells him to do something about it.
Living in a dark and unfriendly city where murders go unsolved and friends and loved ones betray each other as a habit, as much as the kindness in Ben’s heart wants him to do good, sometimes one just needs to lash out…
The scene is set at the start of this book with a prologue, a journal entry from one of the main characters, Dr Sheehan. It’s as if I’m reading his mind, or he is talking to me, the reader, and so we hit the ground running instantly–because when someone is talking to you, you listen.
The author took the time to paint vivid images in my head, but the story wasn’t slow. He was scene-setting, and it drew me right in. The twists were clever, the dialogue was natural, and it is understandable why Hollywood snapped up the rights to this book. For me, though, the way we get to know and understand Teddy Daniels and his troubles was just great storytelling.
The basis for the blockbuster motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island by New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane is a gripping and atmospheric psychological thriller where nothing is quite what it seems. The New York Times calls Shutter Island, “Startlingly original.” The Washington Post raves, “Brilliantly conceived and executed.” A masterwork of suspense and surprise from the author of Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone, Shutter Island carries the reader into a nightmare world of madness, mind control, and CIA Cold War paranoia andis unlike anything you’ve ever read before.
I liked this book, not just because I’m a fan of detective stories, whodunnits, and the like, but more so for the deep dive into the understanding of why the antagonist, Francis, became what he became.
It’s hard to make a character believable when that character does things that, to most of us, are unthinkable, but the author here succeeds and wraps it up into a decent read.
From the author of "Silence of the Lambs" and "Black Sunday", this is the book that introduces the most famous serial killer of them all - Hannibal Lecter.
I loved this book. The concept is brilliant, and as a writer, I’m a little envious that I didn’t come up with it myself. Again, it’s a twisted mind that makes this story.
Laura is someone you hate more with every word that you read, but you can’t stop reading. We get a backstory as to why she is how she is, but regardless, witnessing how she acts as a result, and to people at their most desperate, is very dark.
She's a friendly voice on the phone. But can you trust her?
The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn't want them to hope. She wants them to die.
Laura hasn't had it easy: she's survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry. She doesn't love talking to people worse off than she is. She craves it.
Like many others, I grew up having read several works by Roald Dahl. This short book showcases a different side of the author.
As an adult, I’ve lived through good and bad relationships, and I understand that things look one way from the outside and can be very different for those involved. This tale hits that truth on the head, describing what seems to be a normal, happy home until somebody reaches breaking point.
Lamb to the Slaughter: Un salotto perfetto e accogliente, una moglie premurosa, innamorata e incinta di sei mesi, e un marito poliziotto che, di punto in bianco, le comunica che sta per lasciarla. A questo punto, un cosciotto surgelato di agnello può diventare un’arma impropria, nelle mani della mogliettina sotto shock...
The Wish: Ci vuole una notevole forza di volontà per decidere di attraversare quell'enorme tappeto colorato, i cui disegni rossi nascondono carboni ardenti in grado di incenerirti sul posto, e quelli neri serpenti velenosi pronti a mordere e uccidere. Solo gli spazi gialli sono sicuri, ma ce ne saranno…
I recommend this book because, to me, it is unique–I’ve never read a book like it. It’s an interesting plot, end-of-the-world stuff, with some very unlikeable, low-life characters. It’s set in a very dark version of London that I know and love, in a pub environment similar to the one that I grew up in.
There is murder on the cards throughout the story, but the author still manages to squeeze in some humor. It’s just a different style of writing that I think people should give a try.
London Fields is Amis's murder story for the end of the millennium—"a comic murder mystery, an apocalyptic satire, a scatological meditation on love and death" (The New York Times).
The murderee is Nicola Six, a "black hole" of sex and self-loathing intent on orchestrating her own extinction. The murderer may be Keith Talent, a violent lowlife whose only passions are pornography and darts. Or is the killer the rich, honorable, and dimly romantic Guy Clinch?
Here, Amis is "by turns lyrical and obscene, colloquial and rhapsodic." —Michiko Kakutani
My book recommendations reflect an abiding passion for Japanese literature, which has unquestionably influenced my own writing. My latest literary interest involves Japanese poetry—I’ve recently started a project that combines haiku and prose narration to describe my experiences as a part-time resident in a 1300-year-old Japanese hot spring town that Bashō helped make famous in The Narrow Road to the Deep North. But as a writer, my main focus remains novels. In late 2023 the second in a planned series of novels set in Ishikawa prefecture will be published. I currently live in Kanazawa, but have also been lucky to call Sapporo, Akita, Tokyo, and Fukui home at different times.
Emmitt’s plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of purchasing their dream home. Disappointed, he’s surprised to discover her subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo.
In his search for a meaningful life in Japan, and after quitting his job, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law translate Kanazawa’s most famous author, Izumi Kyoka, into English. He becomes drawn into the mysterious death of a friend of Mirai’s parents, leading him and his father-in-law to climb the mountain where the man died. There, he learns the somber truth and discovers what the future holds for him and his wife.
Packed with subtle literary allusion and closely observed nuance, Kanazawa reflects the mood of Japanese fiction in a fresh, modern incarnation.
In Kanazawa, the first literary novel in English to be set in this storied Japanese city, Emmitt's future plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of negotiations to purchase their dream home. Disappointed, he's surprised to discover Mirai's subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo, a city he dislikes.
Harmony is further disrupted when Emmitt's search for a more meaningful life in Japan leads him to quit an unsatisfying job at a local university. In the fallout, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law translate Kanazawa's most famous author, Izumi Kyoka, into English.
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