Northern Exposure

Classic Novellas Week: Proxopera by Benedict Kiely #NovNov22

My Year with Brian Moore #brianmoore100

Yesterday saw my final review for my Brian Moore at 100 Readalong challenge which celebrated one of Belfast’s greatest literary exports during his centenary year. It has been an absolute joy to immerse myself in so much of his work and to relish his skillful storytelling and depth of characterisation across a diverse range of…

No 389 The Magician’s Wife by Brian Moore for #BrianMoore100

No 430 Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood #readingirelandmonth21

Caroline Blackwood is probably not best known for her writing. Heiress to the Guinness fortune, Blackwood was celebrated as a great beauty and dazzling ‘muse’ courtesy of her high-profile marriages first to the artist Lucian Freud, then to the composer Israel Citkowitz and finally to the poet Robert Lowell. Born into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family from Ulster, she was presented as a debutante…

Lies of Silence by Brian Moore for #BrianMoore100

Announcing the Brian Moore at 100 Read-along for 2021!

No 460 Mostly Hero by Anna Burns #NovNov

Calling Mostly Hero a novella might be pushing my luck slightly. A long short story maybe? No matter how you categorise it though, Mostly Hero is an amusing and unexpected romp through the world of superheroes as depicted by the unique voice of Booker Prize-winner Anna Burns. Published as an e-book before the publication (and…