Simone
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frauchen.bsky.social
Simone
@frauchen.bsky.social
850 followers 820 following 120 posts
🇨🇦 (🇩🇪🇺🇦) She/her; decidedly liberal and socialist. I work in an independent bookshop, so I like offering up reading suggestions based on books I’ve enjoyed.
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Funny, endearing, & fierce, Oyinkan Braithwaite’s new novel tells the story of a family of women in Lagos, Nigeria struggling through superstition, generational trauma, tradition, tribalism, & some strong personalities to live their lives under a multi-generational curse. 🖋️📚💙
A photograph of the Canadian hardcover edition of British-Nigerian author Oyinkan Braithwaite’s new novel, Cursed Daughters. I loved her first novel, My Sister, The Serial Killer, and this one is just as readable and funny, if not quite so dark. Highly recommended.
January 25, 2026 at 1:21 AM
frauchen.bsky.social
Muriel Spark was an eccentric & greatly admired writer of fiction & biography. She was also ornery, self-absorbed, & paranoid. Wilson’s new biography does a thrilling job of winkling out the personal information Spark went to great lengths to alter & obscure during her lifetime.💡📚💙
A photograph of the cover of the North American edition of Frances Wilson’s clever new biography of Scottish writer Muriel Spark, Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel. The cover features a black and white photograph of the author that nicely depicts the contradictions of her personality: the small crucifix on the wall speaks to her conversion and devotion to Catholicism, while the little black cocktail dress she is wearing as she lounges across a bed and the cigarette dangling out of her mouth speak to her belief in women’s rights and freedoms (including control over their own reproductive lives), a tacit rejection of much Catholic belief at the time.
January 21, 2026 at 4:02 PM
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Susan Orlean is always worth reading. Her curiosity, exuberance, & sense of humour make whatever subject she chooses relatable & fascinating. Her recently published memoir is both delightful & instructive: prospective writers will find lots of excellent advice & encouragement. 💡📚💙
A photograph of the advance reader’s edition of Susan Orlean’s new memoir, Joyride, sitting in my lap as I ponder hoisting myself out of bed to face whatever new horrors await on the radio news. Although I didn’t manage to read this one in advance of its publication, I am always grateful to have access to an ARC, particularly for an author I love reading: somehow it feels like I’m contributing to the finished product. This is nonsense, but the feeling is nice.
January 14, 2026 at 2:26 PM
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I always enjoy reading Spufford’s novels, & his latest is no exception: the blitz is hammering London & two women are central to the future of civilisation. One wants a fascist state, the other wants rights & freedoms. Heavy on magical realism. Coming to an indie bookshop near you this spring. 🖋️📚💙📚🪐
A photograph of the advance reading edition of British author Francis Spufford’s forthcoming novel, Nonesuch, sitting on the blue, green, and red rag rug we bought in New England many years ago. It’s a bit of a thriller, a bit of a fantasy novel, and a bit of a romance.
January 9, 2026 at 4:59 PM
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The Radetzky March (1932) is a novel about an old, corrupt, increasingly ineffectual monarchy mired in discontent & revolt, losing touch with the present while clinging desperately to past glory. Its death throes culminate in the Great War, upending & destroying the lives of millions. 🖋️📚💙
A photograph of the Everyman Library edition of Joseph Roth’s 1932 novel The Radetzky March. The sepia-toned photograph on the cover depicts Roth in front of the Savoy Hotel in Vienna. Roth apparently loved Vienna, which makes his fierce and clear-eyed criticism of the Austro-Hungarian empire in this work even more powerful. It feels very relevant to current events, too.
January 4, 2026 at 2:27 PM
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This is a completely delightful collection of gothic Christmas ghost stories, all centred around the witching hour. It’s the 3rd in a series of creepy 🎄 anthologies published by Hachette UK, & includes a bunch of my favourite authors, including Natasha Pulley, Jess Kidd, & Andrew Michael Hurley. 🩸📚💙
A photograph of the British hardcover edition of The Witching Hour, standing upright under my Christmas tree. Every single story is wonderfully ghostly and sometimes a bit ghastly: perfect for reading on a cold winter night whilst sat in a comfortable chair with a big blanket, a hot chocolate, and a purring cat. Highly recommended.
December 28, 2025 at 9:07 PM
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Clint Smith’s examination of the way slavery in the USA is (or is not) commemorated is thoughtful, poetic, profound, personal-yet-universal in scope, & thoroughly researched. That he is a compassionate person of integrity & conviction really comes through in his writing. Highly recommended. 💡📚💙
A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of Clint Smith’s book which examines the commemoration (or lack thereof) of slavery in the USA and Senegal. A vital and important work, his observations are the most moving when he writes about his own family’s recollections and experiences with slavery, and the residual violence and racism that came after the end of the Civil War (and continues to this day).
December 27, 2025 at 1:35 AM
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Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy is an environmental disaster thriller (is that a genre? I feel like that’s a genre). It’s well-plotted with lots of suspense, twists, & likeable, flawed characters. The setting is a fictional island between Tasmania & Antarctica, but it feels real. 🖋️📚💙
A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of Charlotte McConaghy’s new novel Wild Dark Shore sitting on my table-for-one at my favourite local, The House on Parliament. I managed to finish it over a delicious dinner without crying, but it was a close run thing. Wine helps.
December 19, 2025 at 2:03 PM
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Albanian LSE philosophy prof Lea Ypi investigates her beloved grandmother’s story in this remarkable genre-bending biography. She uses the disconnect between her memories, the memories of others, & the gaps in the official records to consider the meaning of dignity: personal, public, & political.💡📚💙
A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of Lea Ypi’s thoughtful, profound investigation into her grandmother’s life in Salonica and Albania in the early 20th century. Upon seeing a photograph of her grandmother on a stranger’s social media page, and reading some alarmingly derogatory comments from other complete strangers, she considers that perhaps there were details about her grandmother’s life that she didn’t really know. Ypi goes to public archives and interviews family and friends in Greece and Albania in an effort to sort it all out. This book, a combination of biography, political history, fiction, and political philosophy, is the astonishing result. I found it particularly inspiring in that my own grandmother’s wartime stories are full of half-truths, exaggerations, and strategic omissions, and I have been struggling recently to understand the reasons for this from her perspective. The preservation of personal and familial dignity, and the difficulty of living a good life in times of war, might go a long way toward explaining some of her decisions. Of course, like Ypi’s grandmother, she is dead and the truth, if it ever really existed, died with her.
December 15, 2025 at 3:28 PM
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A novel with a fabulous premise in which a young, smart, neurodivergent present-day anthropologist investigates the circumstances surrounding the death of a young, smart, neurodivergent iron-age druid; their stories are told side-by-side, with some environmental fight thrown in for good measure. ⏳📚💙
A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of Anna North’s new novel Bog Queen. It made me want to go back to university and take some more anthropology courses, now that we’re living in a more enlightened (mostly) age. The book rests on a bright red wool blanket, and features the black and white features of a woman, on which colourful mosses and mushrooms seem to be growing.
December 10, 2025 at 8:22 PM
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A collection of folk horror short stories set over a number of centuries in the grim, cursed ancient village Barrowbeck. Less chilling than some of Hurley’s earlier novels, Barrowbeck is nevertheless full of sinister foreboding, unfriendly environments, & neighbours who are just a bit … off.🩸📚💙
A photograph of the British hardcover edition of Andrew Michael Hurley’s 2024 folk horror novel Barrowbeck. It sits on a cozy beige and white cotton and fleece blanket — a nice combo for a cold winter evening.
December 8, 2025 at 4:05 AM
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Encampment describes the crisis of homelessness across North America & Europe. Helwig practices a Christianity of radical love & compassion at her parish in Toronto; the byzantine bylaws & rules to which our most vulnerable citizens are subject are as enraging as her activism & care are admirable💡📚💙
A photograph of the Canadian paperback edition of Maggie Helwig’s book Encampment, about her time as priest of a downtown Toronto Anglican church and her efforts, stymied by the authorities at every turn, to help people struggling with problems of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and plain old bad luck. Radically compassionate, Helwig practices a Christianity Jesus would have recognised — one that seems sorely missing from the Christianity with which I’m familiar. Required reading, if only to restore your faith in a small sampling of humanity.
December 4, 2025 at 10:41 PM
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A name scratched on the wall of an historic house in France leads Le Tellier to research the life of a young man killed in a WWII skirmish, filling in details where necessary from imagination & history. It is also a clarion call from the past, a reminder of the sacrifices made to defeat fascism. 🖋️📚💙
A photograph of the North American edition or French author Herve Le Tellier’s genre-bending novel The Name on the Wall, translated by Adriana Hunter. The book is interesting experiment in autofiction.
December 1, 2025 at 1:53 PM
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Amongst Women is the story of a former IRA soldier who feels betrayed by his countrymen. He takes his loss of authority & control out on his family, driving away his sons & tyrannising his wife & daughters who, in spite of it all, continue to love & care for him in his impotent old age. 🖋️📚💙
A photograph of a North American paperback edition of Irish author John McGahern’s 1990 Booker prize winning novel Amongst Women. The main character, Michael Moran, is a war-damaged and profoundly devout man whose performance of his religious belief acts as a kind of tyrannical control; real grace comes from the love and forgiveness given him by his wife and daughters.
November 30, 2025 at 11:08 AM
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Photographer Sally Mann’s latest work is an open, frank, & often funny guide to creating art, as well as a bit of a history of photography & of her own career. Well aware of her own difficult, demanding nature, it’s also part cautionary tale, yet also thoroughly supportive & encouraging. 💡📚💙
A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of American photographer Sally Mann’s latest memoir, which muses on the nitty-gritty of her career, her commitment to her craft, and her enduring passion for the work she does. Self-deprecating and wry, she is very candid about her own short-comings and the vital importance of making mistakes, in art and in life.
November 27, 2025 at 1:32 PM
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First published in 1943, Ali’s classic novel follows a doomed romance between Raif, a romantic, melancholy Turkish student & the frank, beguiling artist, Maria. The author beautifully sketches Weimar Berlin, its attitudes & moralities brought to life in Maria’s clear-eyed fatalism. 🖋️📚💙
A photograph of the 2017 Penguin Classics paperback edition of Turkish author Sabahattin Ali’s 1943 novel Madonna in a Fur Coat, translated by Maureen Freely and Alexander Dawe.
November 24, 2025 at 6:48 PM
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Tokyo Express is a 1958 Japanese noir novel recently reissued by Random House. What could have been a dry logic puzzle of train schedules & maps of Japan is enlivened by lively, dogged detectives, imperfect but determined to follow their instincts & uncover the truth. A slim-but-satisfying read.⚡️📚💙
A photograph of the North American paperback of Siecho Matsumoto’s newly reissued 1958 novel Tokyo Express. The noir novel is translated by Jesse Kirkwood and introduced by Amor Towles. The cover illustration features large blocks of colour; the train is purple, and it barrels through a minimalist landscape of green and black, against a red backdrop that suggests the rising sun of the Japanese flag.
November 21, 2025 at 2:08 PM
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Hu Anyan offers in his memoir an interesting glimpse into the Chinese gig economy. Through all the often mindless, physically demanding work, the occasional humiliation, & some tasks he simply doesn’t like or for which he isn’t well-suited, he maintains his sense of humour & dignity.💡📚💙
A photograph of the cover of the North American hardcover edition of Hu Anyan’s memoir I Deliver Parcels in Beijing. Translated by Jack Hargreaves.
November 20, 2025 at 2:01 PM
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A dystopian novel about a not-all-that-distant future in which AI is very definitely running the show & resistance is, if not futile, extremely difficult (but not dead yet!); Nayler has, in a surprisingly short novel, created a bewildering world of paranoia, confusion, despair, defiance, & hope.🪐📚💙
A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of Ray Nayler’s dystopian futuristic novel Where the Axe is Buried. The illustration on the cover is coloured in tones of orange and purple, and features kind of a domed city hovering above what turns out to be taiga wilderness. Many things about the dystopia in which the characters find themselves living feels decidedly Russian (Baba Yaga is even invoked a few times, in a good way).
November 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
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I missed subway stops at least 5 times reading this novel. Set in the nascent 19th century medical community in Edinburgh, the mystery involves young, vulnerably-employed women who are being horribly poisoned. A gripping if occasionally gruesome tale with a very satisfying conclusion.⚡️📚💙⏳📚
A photograph of the North American paperback edition of The Way of All Flesh, the first in a series of historical medical mystery novels written by Marisa Haetzman and her husband Christopher Brookmyre (if you haven’t already done so, do yourself a favour and read Brookmyre’s One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, which had me ugly-crying with laughter on a train to Ottawa some years ago).
November 12, 2025 at 10:25 PM
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What I loved about this memoir/worldwide cemetery tour by Argentinian horror author Enriquez was her compassionate, unapologetic self-awareness; sense of humour; thoughtful storytelling; & her way of beautifully integrating the personal & the universal. 💡📚💙
A photograph of the North American hardcover edition of Argentinian author Mariana Enriquez’s new memoir/travelogue Somebody is Walking on Your Grave. The cover is a striking lime green colour, with the title and author’s name in hot pink all-caps and an illustration of a blue and pink angel draping herself over a gravestone. It’s a lively tour of remarkable cemeteries and the curiosities (corpses and monuments alike) within them. Beautifully translated by Megan McDowell.
November 9, 2025 at 3:16 PM
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Die Apothekerin is a darkly funny novel unreliably narrated by a pharmacist who has terrible luck with (& taste in) men. Since the tragic death of a schoolmate when she was a young girl, she also encounters a startling number of deaths & near-deaths, some accidental, some on purpose. 🇩🇪📚💙
A photograph of Ingrid Noll‘s novel Die Apothekerin, featuring a painted portrait of a woman with a scarf around her head, and the look of a guilty conscience on her face.
October 30, 2025 at 6:21 PM
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Simon Mason‘s most recent (compulsively readable) DI Ryan Wilkins mystery novel, A Voice in the Night, is very satisfying on a bunch of levels: lots of unexpected twists, social commentary, humour, touching parenting moments, exposed hypocrisies. ⚡️📚💙
A photograph of the British paperback edition of Simon Mason‘s latest DI Ryan Wilkins mystery novel A Voice in the Night.
October 21, 2025 at 11:25 AM
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🇨🇦 Thammavongsa’s first novel describes a day in the life of Ning, the owner of a nail salon in a city that might be Toronto. Ning’s interior monologues & the differences between what she says to her workers, clients, & herself reveal profound tensions between classes, races, sexes, & friends. 🖋️📚💙
A photograph of the cover of the Canadian hardcover edition of Souvankham Thammavongsa’s first novel Pick a Colour. It’s a small book; the cover is white with a confetti-like sprinkling of brightly-coloured fingernails. Thammavongsa packs a lot into her seemingly slim novel, which is both funny, touching, and heartbreaking. And yes, my nails are a mess: I shudder to think what Ning would make of my life and psyche just by looking at them.
October 19, 2025 at 1:40 PM
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This sprawling French novel about a 20th century Italian sculptor & his muse examines the rise & fall of Fascism in Italy, the lives of Italian women, the profundity of friendship & family loyalty, & the many facets of love & faith. A mystery at the heart of the novel propels the plot forward. 🖋️📚💙
A photograph of the British edition of the English translation of French author Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s Prix-Goncourt-winning novel Watching Over Her (Vieller Sur Elle). The cover illustration depicts a house and some trees in rolling hills, all done in reds and yellows and reminiscent, somehow, of Tuscan landscapes. The plot moves between Pietra d’Alba, Florence, and Rome, and concerns the lives of a gifted sculptor (Mimo) and his muse (Viola) and the fate of a mysterious pieta hidden deep within a church vault.
October 17, 2025 at 11:27 PM