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BEING AN OUTSIDER Claire Messud's new novel discusses anger, jealousy and fate The Woman Upstairs is Claire Messud’s fifth novel and one she wanted to write in part because, “as a reader I have always enjoyed ‘ranty’ books, but they are all written by men. So I went into this thinking: ‘Why aren’t there female characters who are angry, who feel like outsiders, who feel left out and actually say so?’ Nora says at one point ‘it’s unseemly’ for women to be angry. There are many things we’re allowed to be, but there are certain types of unattractive we’re not supposed to be. Years ago I worked in a newspaper office and there were men that would have fits of temper and it was just accepted that that’s who they were and everyone would laugh about it, but if a woman got upset or angry, something wasn’t right, she was hysterical or a little unhinged. It didn’t have the same connotation." MORE >

BRIAN ALDISS' DESERT ISLAND BOOKS The sci-fi author chooses his seven favourite books 1. Leo Tolstoy's Resurrection Although I have read Tolstoy’s third novel several times, I find it inexhaustible. The central character made a subordinate maiden pregnant and, later in life, is called to jury service, where a woman is charged with murder. She is the woman he wronged, years earlier. So this tale unwinds, and the trail leads us through villages, churches, and prisons. It is full of hope and sorrow, and an earlier Russia. 2. Marie Bashkirtseff's Journal Russia again, although Marie lives in exile. When her parents’ marriage broke up, Marie’s mother took her to live in Nice. She is young, wrapped up in herself, rejoicing and being miserable by turns. I loved this book, with its theme of longing, even before I was ten years old. MORE >

	BOOK OF THE WEEK

THINGS THAT ARE by Amy Leach A stunning debut described as 'a book about the universe which begins with salmon and ends with stars', Amy Leach rapidly covers everything from the moment of creation to the very last precious seconds on earth – and then dips into the way the cycle would start all over again. Whether describing the “affability” of beavers, the “silliness of lilies” in 'Crocodilopolis' or what must happen when trees dream of being trees – “I am a terrible tree! A thousand leaves is more than enough to prove that!” – Leach's prose tumbles and cascades, sweeping the reader along through scene after scene with powerful extended metaphors and accomplished similies, evoking natural phenomenon after disaster after phenomenon. Short chapters, short sentences and long, languishing words are Leach's signature and the standard to which she can accomplish the most detailed description with the fewest – albeit most extravagant – words is testament to her talent. MORE >