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{{newreview
|title=The Parrots
|author=Filippo Bologna
|rating=4
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=When confronted with the topic of parrots, most people would describe them as tamed tropical birds that are taught to repeat simple phrases, having no particular intelligence to engender an originality of their own. Filippo Bologna has not in fact written a book about birds, but about writers - in fact, three writers. Just as the Neo-Pagans have a liking of the Triple Goddesses of The Maiden, The Mother and The Crone, our three writers are similarly split into The Beginner, The Writer, and The Master. All three of these novelists are battling it out for The Prize, a prestigious award that would revitalise the career of The Master, legitimize the efforts of The Beginner and assure The Writer a place in the annals of history. The setting of Rome is utilised to provide both a stunning backdrop and one that is sympathetic to the mood of our characters. The stories of our three protagonists are interwoven in a delightfully clear fashion; Bologna's prose is delicate and descriptive, but not at the sacrifice of pacing. The stage is set; the characters have learned their lines. There is just one problem... out of the three writers, none of them deserves to win The Prize.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908968192</amazonuk>
}}
 
{{newreview
|title=In The Dutch Mountains
|summary=Set in rural Tennessee, Dellarobia Turnbow is a young mother, trapped in the result of a shotgun wedding in a largely loveless marriage on her husband's failing family farm dominated by the disapproval of her God-fearing mother in law. She dreams of escape with equally unsuitable younger men until one day on her way to acting on this impulse for the first time, she encounters an act of nature that will change her life for good. Barbara Kingsolver perfectly captures in the opening paragraphs the sense of entrapment and dissatisfaction of Dellarobia and doesn't let up for a moment.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571290779</amazonuk>
}}
 
{{newreview
|author=Nikolai Leskov, Richard Pevear (translator) and Larissa Volokhonsky (translator)
|title=The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories
|rating=4
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=This is a collection of 17 Nikolai Leskov stories as mixed in subject matter as they are in length. From the very short ''Spirit of Madame de Genlis'', warning of the dire consequences of selecting literature for a mollycoddled princess, to the novella-length ''The Enchanted Wanderer'' telling the tale of the apparently immortal monk who prayed for suicide victims, Leskov (aided greatly by the talented translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky) unlocks the mores, traditions, religion and superstitions of 19th century Russia for a modern readership.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099577356</amazonuk>
}}