Room author, Emma Donoghue, returns with her new novel The Wonder, a historical novel with a premise which is equally interesting and extremely atmospheric. It is a story riddled with secrets, superstitions, faith, rituals, myth and tradition. The novel is set in 1859 in the Irish hamlet of Athlone. Eleven year old Anna O’Donnell celebrates […]
Focus Magazines
The local magazines for Abergavenny, Crickhowell, Brecon & Talgarth – Events, News and Advertising
Category Archives: Literature
Libraries launch Big Friendly reading challenge
Local youngsters are being encouraged to visit their local library over the summer holidays to take part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge. Libraries in Powys are launching the Big Friendly Read this summer as part of the Summer Reading Challenge, which is aimed for children aged 4-11. The theme for 2016 is centred around […]
Book Review: Addlands by Tom Bullough
In celebration of all things Welsh, Emma from Bookish in Crickhowell has selected this stunning fourth novel by Tom Bullough who lives locally in the Brecon Beacons. Addlands (i.e., headlands): the border of plough land which is ploughed last of all. The patriarch of Funnon Farm is Idris Hamer, stubborn, strong, a man of the […]
Book Review: ‘The Muse’ by Jessie Burton
The Muse is an unforgettable novel about aspiration and identity, love and obsession, authenticity and deception – from the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist. On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled […]
Book Review: ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ by Claire Fuller
Winner of the 2015 Desmond Elliot Prize The heat of the summer in 1976 is evoked in the opening pages as well as the way we all became listless and bored after the initial euphoria of the endless sunny days. Peggy is an eight year old and her parents are an odd combination, though their […]
Aber Writing Fest
April 2016 will see the launch of a new event for Abergavenny: the Aber Writing Fest. Event founder and organiser Lucie Parkin is aiming to provide an eclectic range of events for all age groups and tastes. The event is designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in writing and words, whether professional or […]
Book Review: ‘What A Way to Go’ by Julia Forster
1988. 12-year-old Harper Richardson’s parents are divorced. Her mum got custody of her, the Mini, and five hundred tins of baked beans. Her dad got a mouldering cottage in a Midlands backwater village and default membership of the Lone Rangers single parents’ club. Harper got questionable dress sense, a zest for life, two gerbils, and […]
Book Review: A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gayle
This novel by Patrick Gayle has been recommended by a multitude of sources. Not only has it been shortlisted for the 2015 Costa book of the year awards, but it was also picked for the BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo Book Club and the Waterstones Book Club. Harry Crane is born into a life of […]
Library challenge helps develop passion for reading
Children from across Monmouthshire have taken part in a fun challenge designed to encourage them to pick up and appreciate a book with the help of local libraries. Organised by the Reading Agency, this year’s Summer Reading Challenge teamed up with Guinness World Records to establish a Record Breakers-themed competition. The aim was for children […]
Book Review: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
A great family story, this covers American life from the Depression to the present time. Red and Abby are the two main protagonists together with their children. Denny is perhaps the most interesting member of the family. Intensely private, guarded, sometimes he disappears from their lives, then reappears with a daughter, Susan. His wife doesn’t […]