Books and Camilla Pia

Nikita Lalwani - The Village

A tense social drama about trust and betrayal, set in an Indian prison

22 May 2012

When Ray Bhullar travels to an Indian ‘open prison’ village to film a behind-the-scenes BBC documentary, she gets more than she bargained for. ‘Everyone here has killed someone,’ she’s told, as she slowly adapts to the sights and smells of her alien new…

Peter Carey - The Chemistry of Tears

Moving portrait of grief and genius from the twice Booker-winning author

16 Mar 2012

(Faber) Grief haunts the pages of Peter Carey’s new novel, the twice Booker-winning author painting a compelling picture of all-consuming love in the 19th and 21st centuries. Catherine Gehrig is an horologist turned museum conservator who, following…

Ali Shaw - The Man Who Rained

Fantastical modern fable from the author of The Girl With Glass Feet

19 Dec 2011

(Atlantic) After the success of The Girl With Glass Feet, Ali Shaw sticks to his penchant for penning fables with a folklore-filled romance set in a small, superstitious American town. But Thunderstown is not as it first appears when Elsa Beletti…

Robert Harris - The Fear Index

An unexpectedly thrilling mix of science, computers and global economics

16 Sep 2011

(Hutchinson) With its ominous title and opening ‘Frankenstein’ quote, it’s no great surprise to find that The Fear Index is a freaky read. And if you’re a fan of being spooked, then Robert Harris’ eighth novel is a must, as he guides us through a…

Jane Harris

The author of The Observations and Gillespie and I on making Glasgow an evocative character

24 Aug 2011

‘The secret was what I began with,’ says Jane Harris about her most recent work, Gillespie and I. And what a mystery we unravel, as narrator Harriet Baxter reflects on her time in 1880s Glasgow and the consequences of a chance meeting with ‘soulmate…

Amy Waldman - The Submission

Admirably tackling the political impacts of 9/11

24 Aug 2011

(Heinemann) Tackling the devastating emotional and political impact of 9/11 is no light undertaking but Amy Waldman grapples with it admirably in her debut The Submission. The novel centres around a panel charged with choosing the memorial to be…

Hari Kunzru - Gods Without Men

A centuries-spanning, multi-character masterpiece from Kunzru

3 Aug 2011

(Hamish Hamilton) Not many books start with a coyote smoking pot. But then Hari Kunzru is not your average novelist. His latest endeavour is a dazzling collection of snapshots taken at various points in time between 1775 and 2009, as we dip in and…

Jane Harris – Gillespie and I

Fictional memoir combining warm late Victorian detail with well-crafted storytelling technique

13 Apr 2011

(Faber) We first meet Harriet Baxter in 1933 Bloomsbury, as our elderly narrator embarks on her memoir. The focus from the off is on her magical encounter with ‘soulmate’ Ned Gillespie, Baxter soon becoming deeply embroiled in the lives of this…

Robert Alan Jamieson - Da Happie Laand

1 Sep 2010

(Luath) We imagine Robert Alan Jamieson spent a lot of noggin-aching days and nights trying to work out how to match what he accomplished with A Day at the Office, the 1991 novel regarded by many as one of the greatest Scottish works of all time.

Alice Thompson

The Edinburgh novelist gets used to the spotlight

12 Aug 2010

‘It’s a great honour to be asked to appear at the Edinburgh Book Festival,’ says Alice Thompson. ‘It’s like being knighted.’ And no one deserves it more than this Edinburgh-based author. Her fifth and most recent work, The Existential Detective, finds…

Allan Brown will discuss Inside the Wickerman

His batty book analyses the cult classic

12 Aug 2010

Inside the Wicker Man is a cinema lover’s dream. The book is packed with fascinating trivia from the horror classic it explores, along with in-depth analysis and humour; and it’s a pleasure to find its author Allan Brown just as funny in everyday…

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

Masterful characters discover a world of crime and corruption

12 Aug 2010

Popular private investigator Jackson Brodie makes a dramatic return in Kate Atkinson’s latest offering; as he delves into the past and discovers a world of corruption, killings and cover-ups. Set in Leeds, Started Early, Took My Dog marks another…

David McKee

Discussing the inner monster

12 Aug 2010

‘They’re like my children,’ smiles David McKee, the creator of such long-adored characters as Mr Benn, King Rollo and Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. ‘You love them equally and they all demand attention at different times.’ The legendary storyteller and…

Howard Jacobson - The Finkler Question

29 Jul 2010

(Bloomsbury) Fans of Howard Jacobson’s skilfully constructed storytelling will not be surprised to hear that his latest work seems to centre around male-female relationships, a theme the London-based writer has explored often. But as The Finkler…

Ned Beauman - Boxer Beetle

23 Jul 2010

(Sceptre) Not one for the easily shocked, young scribe Ned Beauman subjects the reader to a parade of ghoulish events and ghastly theories throughout his dazzling first novel Boxer Beetle. Admittedly it’s hard work at first, as we’re introduced to a…

Rhys Thomas - On the Third Day

5 Jul 2010

(Doubleday) Rampaging humans infected with a mysterious, incurable disease, society’s structures crumbling, whole countries vanquished and just one family on the run from it all. We can see what Rhys Thomas is trying to do with his second novel and…

Alice Thompson - The Existential Detective

24 Jun 2010

(Two Ravens Press) When a work opens, as The Existential Detective does, with the lyrics to Pat Ballard’s ‘Mister Sandman’, followed by an extract from ‘The Sandman’ by ETA Hoffmann, you just know it’s going to be spine-chilling. And this is Alice…

Yann Martel's Shoah business

3 Jun 2010

Yann Martel is using more fable and allegory in the follow-up to his Man Booker winner. Camilla Pia hears from an author at his artistic peak and in domestic bliss

Kirsten Reed - The Ice Age

28 Apr 2010

(Picador) In case you hadn’t noticed, vampires are all the rage right now. So the subject matter of Kirsten Reed’s debut novel couldn’t be more apt. A disillusioned teen, desperate for a bit of adventure, meets an older bohemian bloke she reckons…

Before the Gods - KS Turner interview

19 Jan 2010

From the moment you pick up Before the Gods, with its tantalising mix of fantasy, science fiction, psychology, mythology, existential questioning and spirituality, it’s clear that we’re dealing with no ordinary fictional debut. But with its lofty title…

William Styron - The Suicide Run

7 Jan 2010

(Jonathan Cape) On first glance at the cover image depicting a uniformed soldier speeding across a field, The Suicide Run looks like your average war story. But this is no ordinary tale; we should have guessed really, as William Styron is no…

CJ Box - Three Weeks to Say Goodbye

4 Dec 2009

(Corvus) He’s a rising star of crime writing in the States, but it’s only a matter of time before CJ Box explodes onto the UK’s radar, thanks in no small part to this storming British debut. Three Weeks to Say Goodbye is a smart place to start for…

Iain Banks - Transition

18 Aug 2009

Iain Banks’ words have a habit of getting inside your head with certain phrases, ideas and characters left tunnelling their way into the consciousness long after you’ve put his books down. Latest offering Transition is no different. While his writing…

John Aberdein - Strip the Willow

12 Aug 2009

Think you can handle pressure? Try following an award-winning debut. John Aberdein kept a cool head when it came to writing Strip the Willow however, despite the huge anticipation for the novel as a result of excellent first offering Amande’s Bed. ‘Some…

Aleksandar Hemon: Love and Obstacles

10 Aug 2009

Too tightly weaved together for your average collection of short stories, but containing sections too complete to be mere chapters in a standard novel, Love and Obstacles is a staggering achievement for this Bosnian American writer. His fourth literary…