Book Reviews

All the Beloved Ghosts
by Alison MacLeod
Pub Bloomsbury £16.99
A collection of short stories by the author of the Booker longlisted novel Unexploded, set in wartime Brighton. Alison MacLeod is Professor of Contemporary Fiction at the University of Chichester and well known for her beautifully crafted short stories. Her many fans will not be disappointed by this masterly exploration of the boundaries between fact and fiction as she takes us into the lives of characters that range from Bloomsbury icons to reluctant jihadists. A treat!

Vinegar Girl
by Ann Tyler
pub Vintage £8.99
Anne Tyler, expert at the wry dissection of family life, has been commissioned by Vintage in their project for the recreation of classics for the modern age, to add a 21st century touch to The Taming of the Shrew. The current vogue for modern reconstructions of the classics may not appeal to all readers, but in Ms Tyler’s able hands we have a re-telling that deftly creates a credible and creditable version of this sometimes uncomfortable tale. Kate Battista is a reluctant pre-school teacher in Baltimore who lives at home with her ageing father and her irritating younger sister Bunny. An academic and an eccentric scientist, her father is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough but faces losing his brilliant young eastern European lab assistant, Pyotr whose visa is about to expire. Unless difficult but essentially caring Kate can be persuaded to help…. Good fun.

The Apple Orchard
by Pete Brown
pub Penguin £9.99
Pete Brown, author of several excellent books about beer, cider and pub history, came to the Steyning Bookshop some years ago (ably assisted by Adur Brewery and their beer samples), with his book Hops and Glory which recounted his amusing recreation of the original voyage from Britain to India that kegs of British brewed India Pale Ale would have taken. Now, inspired by his recent research into the history of cider making, he has turned his attention to apple orchards. This delightful and informative book, written in Pete’s easy and knowledgeable style is a wonderful paean to the English countryside and the seasons, history and magical folklore of its apple orchards.
'An absorbing love letter to the English apple tree...lyrical and joyful' Times Literary Supplement

The Descent of Man
by Grayson Perry
Pub Penguin £8.99
Now in paperback, this brilliant attempt to rethink the concept of “manhood” while managing (just) to avoid stereotyping, will hopefully reach an even wider readership. The ideas as one might expect follow Perry’s quirky and iconoclastic trajectory, amusing and original in equal measure, as he concludes that one of the “problems” with men is not their gender but rather the gender role dictated to them
“This book, with its non-macho slender girth and personal, engaging approach, is a breeze of a read, and one that makes you see our male-manufactured world a little differently. And you can’t really ask for more than that.” Matt Haig The Guardian

Children’s Books

The Bone Sparrow
by Zana Fraillon
Pub Orion Children’s Books £6.99
A moving and engaging story written in the vein of Morri Gleitzman’s Once and John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Eternal optimist young Subhi has spent his whole life in a miserable and repressive detention centre for immigrants. Subhi’s family are the Rohingya people of Burma, in danger in their own country and unwanted in the country whence they have fled (probably Australia but never actually named). His life takes an upward turn when he meets Jimmie a young semi-literate girl who lives in a homestead outside the camp and who has found a gap in the fence. Jimmie brings with her a bone sparrow talisman and a treasured book which belonged to her mother who has recently died. Subhi, who is as desperate to find new stories as Jimmie is to hear familiar old ones, reads to her and in exchange she brings gifts of hot chocolate in a thermos and treats of food that Subhi hasn’t experienced before. The stories show both children the importance of their histories and their place in the world, but danger of discovery always lurks.
Tense and also lyrical, this is a book that every child should have the chance to read.
Suitable for age 8 -12.

The Giant Jumperee
by Julia Donaldson
illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
pub Penguin £12.99
An instant classic once again!  One day Rabbit arrived home to hear a big and scary voice coming from inside his burrow. "I'M THE GIANT JUMPEREE AND I'M SCARY AS CAN BE!" When Rabbit's friends Cat, Bear and Elephant come to help they are frightened away one by one by the mysterious voice. “He can squash you like a flea He will sting you like a bee And he's taller than a tree! But who is the Giant Jumperee?”
Julia Donaldson’s skilful and rhymes create a jolly and intriguing tale for young readers which is beautifully brought to life by the acclaimed children’s book illustrator Helen Oxenbury.

Julia and Helen will be at the bookshop on Saturday 8th April signing copies of this new book which will be available for purchase alongside other titles.