The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura book cover
Blimey, it’s once again been an absolutely hectic month this end (as hectic as it can be when you’re still hobbling around like a right twit). Somehow reading seems to have taken precedence over writing reviews once more and so I’m left with a back-log of things I want to tell you all about! I should start by saying that my review of The Information, which hasn’t quite made it out of my brain and into electro form just yet, should be ready very soon – so never fear, fresh Amis content is still on the horizon (I can hear the collective yawn from here).

But to things new, this month I think I’m going to make The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura my book of the month. Winner of one of Japan’s most prestigious literary awards, The Thief is the story of an alienated pick-pocket roaming the streets of Tokyo, moving anonymously amongst the wealthy and surviving off his own wits – existential crises and a discourse of displacement await I suspect. Lovely. This is the first of Nakamura’s novels to be translated into English and, whilst he’s been well received in Japan, reviews from Western critics have so far been mixed.

Another book on my reading pile which might be new to some of you is Wormwood by D. H. Nevins. This is a post-apocalyptic novel of massive scope, chock full of angels, both decent and positively wicked. Not only should a review be winging its way to all of you this month, but I should also be posting an interview with the rather lovely author at some point.

And from two fresh new reads, I’m reverting to type and picking out two older reads for the rest of the month. The Immoralist by Andre Gide is a classic of French existential literature and is an intimate portrait of a young scholar who, following an epiphany of sorts, goes on to push the boundaries of society and common morality. A controversial book in its day, but that day was 1902 so...

Finally, an old favourite. As part (loosely) of Jenna's (of Lost Generation Reader) Harry Potter read-along I’m going to be re-reading the whole Harry Potter series over the coming months so expect lots of Potter-related posts. This month I’ll be diving into the book where it all began, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in which both Harry and the reading world were first introduced to Hogwarts.

It would be lovely to hear from anyone else who’s taking part in the read-along, and any comments on the rest of this month’s reading list are more than welcome.

Notable Posts from August
Review: How to be Good by Nick Hornby
Review: Chavs by Owen Jones
Review: God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens