MetroLife

Burke on familiar and solid footing with Rain Gods

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:41:21 GMT

Book review: Gnarled former POW turned Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland is the central force for good in a stark thriller that carries echoes of No Country For Old Men.

Reissues: Three classic works from female writers

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:06:30 GMT

Book feature: Here are a trio of classic books from renowned women that have been re-relased and belong on every bookshelf.

Makers has moments but they achieve little

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:06:30 GMT

Book review: Doctorows fifth novel will have technology buffs salivating, but it's hard to overlook its one-dimensional characters and drawn-out plot.

Memorable Truth Or Fiction will keep you guessing

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:06:30 GMT

Book review: At just 150 pages long, the narrative of this Whitbread Award-winning tale feels a little straitened, but it builds to a sly and memorable climax.

Burke on familiar, solid ground with Rain Gods

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:06:30 GMT

Book review: Gnarled former POW turned Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland is the central force for good in a stark thriller that carries echoes of No Country For Old Men.

Nabokov's last gasp no final flourish

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:06:30 GMT

Fiction Of The Week: This extravagantly packaged edition of the surviving text of Nabokovs last novel includes perforated facsimiles of the original index cards.

A Crisis Of Brilliance won't grip everyone

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:02:50 GMT

Book review: This account of five famously wild Slade graduates of the early 20th century is too personal and considered to catch the imagination of non-art lovers.

Stitches strays dangerously close to misery lit

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:02:50 GMT

Book review: Small's compelling and hauntingly drawn tale of his Kafka-esque 1950s family life and somewhat traumatic childhood feels like it should be more moving.

Not much news in Angelou's Letter To My Daughter

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:02:49 GMT

Book review: Maya Angelou collates 28 anecdotes, poems and life lessons into an address to the daughter she never had in this ultimately slight offering.

Changing My Mind shows Zadie's consuming passion

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:02:49 GMT

Non-fiction Of The Week: An excellent, thematically haphazard collection of essays and lectures that suggests that Smith's need for books is akin to her need for food.

The Passport takes you on a sparse, unflinching trip

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:10:22 GMT

Book review: This reissue of the Romanian-born authors 1989 novella paints a dark and surreal picture of life in Ceausescu's repressive communist Romania.

Black Water Rising floats a flood of ideas

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:10:22 GMT

Book review: The potboiler-esque title and John Grisham comparisons on the jacket of this book dont do Attica Lockes thoughtful debut much justice - it's much deeper than that.

Dark deeds in a wicked Winterland

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:10:22 GMT

Book review: Glynn takes a powerful swing at the greed and corruption that did for the Celtic Tiger in this hardhitting page-turner youll want to devour in one sitting.

Underwhelmed by Stephen King's Under The Dome

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:10:22 GMT

Fiction Of The Week: In this highly anticipated novel, King has been too restrained with the content and entirely unrestrained with the length.

Wine and wisdom under Scruton-y

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:04:48 GMT

Book review: If you ever have Roger Scruton over for dinner, you may have to endure the right-wing philosophers defence of fox-hunting but at least he should bring a damn fine bottle along.

Saramago weaves Small Memories into a great memoir

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:04:48 GMT

Book review: Nobel laureate José Saramago doesnt offer a typical memoir, rather a tapestry of reminiscences stitched together haphazardly but with his usual irresistible charm.

Crumb comes clean with illustrated Genesis

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:04:48 GMT

Book review: Robert Crumb's take on Genesis is neither coweringly sacred nor cheaply profane, but a mature personal work and a new comic book landmark.

A life of Sex & Violence, Death & Silence

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:04:48 GMT

Non-fiction Of The Week: This tantalisingly titled new collection brings together Gordon Burns best work on visual art and focuses on two key periods the early Pop artists and the Young British Artists.

Ellroy finds peace in the chaos of Blood's A Rover

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:02:30 GMT

Author interview Bloods A Rover concludes Ellroys masterwork: three crazy novels delineating the bloody ideological struggles between the radicals and the reactionaries in the US of the 1960s and 70s.

Elton's writing career has gone into Meltdown

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07:12 GMT

Books: Ben Elton's latest satirical blockbuster tackles the recession, but it's let down by banal treatment of the issues, unlikeable characters and bad dialogue.

You Better Not Cry... with laughter

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07:12 GMT

Books: Burroughs serves up a typically warped yet enjoyable, well-crafted collection of Christmas-themed stories, ideal for anyone who has difficulty getting into the festive spirit.

Bon Jovi are the real Jersey boys

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07:12 GMT

Music interview: The hair may be shorter and significantly less voluminous, but even after 25 years, Bon Jovi still care about their roots. The US rocker talks to Metro about the future.

Paul Auster's Invisible lacking real substance

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07:11 GMT

Books: Paul Auster's new book is a psychological thriller that doubles as a signature Auster literary hologram, changing shape depending on which angle you look at it.

Paris Review interviews reveal the methods of the masters

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:10:38 GMT

This fourth volume of insightful interviews with writers, for which The Paris Review is justly renowned, is heaven for book-lovers and would-be writers.

Ferguson makes a pudding of Yorkshire pop music

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:10:38 GMT

With the success of Arctic Monkeys, The Cribs et al, a history of Yorkshire pop music is an appealing enough proposition - but this is too cursory and superficial.