Julie Martis
Julie Martis studied English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. She is mainly to be found with a book in one hand and a coffee in the other or at her piano. She particularly enjoys reading contemporary fiction and poetry but will read anything at all that catches her eye. Her most treasured book is a worn out copy of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy given to her by her teacher in high school. She can also be found on twitter @FhuluLou and on IdeasTap.
The Red Thread, by Ann Hood
Reviewed on March 12, 2012
The title refers to the Chinese belief that people who are destined to be together are connected by an invisible red thread. This belief is treasured by the protagonist, Maya Lange, who runs an adoption agency of the same name with an almost spiritual fervour. The book splits itself into segments; alternating between telling the [...]
Shadowstory, by Jennifer Johnston
Reviewed on March 3, 2012
Shadowstory is set in the Second World War. After her father dies, Polly’s mother, Nonie, remarries and has two children, and Polly grows increasingly isolated from this new family unit. Her mother, while not forbidding her, actively tries to discourage her spending time at Kildarragh with her beloved grandparents; her late father’s parents. She begins [...]
The Child Who, by Simon Lelic
Reviewed on January 2, 2012
This is the third novel from ex-journalist Simon Lelic, and it centres on Leo Curtice, a lawyer assigned to defend Daniel Blake, a young boy accused of murdering his classmate Felicity Forbes. It examines the results of the subsequent press coverage, Leo’s attempts to get Daniel to open up, and the resulting disintegration of Leo’s [...]
The Stars in the Bright Sky, by Alan Warner
Reviewed on May 6, 2011
The Stars in the Bright Sky tells the story of six young women attempting to go on a holiday. I say ‘attempting’ because something stops them every time they try to book a flight. As a result of these farcical mess ups (mostly perpetrated by loudmouth Scot Manda), they spend almost the entire book trapped [...]
Old Masters, by Thomas Bernhard
Reviewed on September 17, 2010
This is an odd book. Reading it was sort of like taking a bite out of an apple to find that it contains banana on the inside. Firstly, it doesn’t really follow the rules that novels are supposed to adhere to. If you asked someone to describe a novel to you, they would say things [...]
36 Arguments for the Existence of God, by Rebecca Goldstein
Reviewed on September 9, 2010
“‘Feh” says a lot’. And so does Rebecca Goldstein. So much so that only someone with a degree in philosophy would catch every reference in 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, which is part philosophical treatise, part novel. This might seem somewhat daunting at first, and when first reading it I couldn’t help feeling [...]
The Death of Lomond Friel, by Sue Peebles
Reviewed on July 13, 2010
Psychological realism characterises The Death of Lomond Friel, which explores the impact of a father’s stroke on his extended family and close friends. As the story unfolds we take the vantage point of each of the main characters in turn, viewing Lomond, and life, through their eyes. In a sense, his stroke is the least [...]
Grace Williams Says It Loud, by Emma Henderson
Reviewed on June 27, 2010
Grace Williams Says It Loud tells the story of a severely mentally and physically disabled young girl, sent to live in a mental institute at the age of eleven. Set in the 1950s, it explores the stigma attached to disability and the consequences for Grace in particular. Nothing really happens as such, and that is [...]
Beatrice and Virgil, by Yann Martel
Reviewed on June 3, 2010
Like the Booker Prize winning Life of Pi, Yann Martel’s third novel centres on animals, in this case Beatrice the donkey and Virgil the howler monkey. The story follows Henry, a writer who has achieved worldwide success with his previous novel yet encounters setbacks with his sequel; a ‘flip book’ consisting of a novel and [...]
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The Bookgeeks Interview
Mark Oldfield
Mark Oldfield has worked in criminological research for over 20 years. He has a PhD in Criminology from the University of Kent and has carried out research in the areas of risk assessment and prediction and as well as evaluative research on policing, prisons and probation. He has also taught in various Universities on research, crime and criminal justice.
