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David Hebblethwaite @David_Heb

Adventures in reading, small publishers and fiction in translation especially. Yorkshireman down south.

Joined June 2009
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For the #1961Club, I've written about The Ha-Ha by Jennifer Dawson, which I enjoyed very much... davidsbookworld.com/2026/04/… @kaggsy59 @FaberBooks

#1961Club: The Ha-Ha by Jennifer Dawson

This week is a new ‘club’ week hosted by Simon and Kaggsy, with a focus on books published in 1961. I’ve picked out this novel, which was reissued last year in Faber Editions. Bri…

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For @stujallen's Hungarian Lit Month, I have read "I Don't Care", a story collection by Ágota Kristóf (tr. Chris Andrews). I found it as ostensibly spare, and as deeply felt, as her Notebook Trilogy. More thoughts at the link below.
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davidsbookworld.com/2026/02/…

Hungarian Lit Month: I Don’t Care by Ágota Kristóf (tr. Chris Andrews)

After an extended break, I’m making another attempt at getting back into blogging at least semi-regularly. Maybe it will only be for specific occasions, or a couple of times a month, or maybe…

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Happy New Year!
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For @strangehorizons, I've been working on a review of A Granite Silence, Nina Allan's fascinating examination of a historical crime as a network of jostling stories (@riverrunbooks). The review went online yesterday - link in the post below.
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strangehorizons.com/wordpres…

A Granite Silence by Nina Allan

In her latest novel, Allan steps in a different direction again.

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I have a new review up at @strangehorizons! Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva (tr. Rahul Bery, pub. @serpentstail), a novel that destroys itself with the most gleeful abandon. Link in next post...
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strangehorizons.com/wordpres…

Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, translated by Rahul Bery

I’ve read novels that destroy themselves before, but rarely have they done so with the gleeful abandon of Dengue Boy.

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We on the shadow panel have chosen our winner of the #InternationalBooker2025, in advance of tomorrow's official announcement. We chose On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle (tr. Barbara J. Haveland, pub. @FaberBooks). More info at the link below...
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From the #InternationalBooker2025 longlist: Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix (tr. Helen Stevenson, pub. @hoperoadpublish). I found this a powerful experience. davidsbookworld.com/2025/04/…

#InternationalBooker2025: Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix (tr. Helen Stevenson)

Small Boat is the first novel by French philosopher Vincent Delecroix to be translated into English. It’s inspired by real events from 2021, when a dinghy taking migrants from France to the U…

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Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (tr. Sophie Hughes): short novel about a young ex-pat couple searching for the perfect life. I particularly like the way it embodies its own theme, skating over the surface of what it depicts. Book 2/13 read from #InternationalBooker2025.
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My first stop on the #InternationalBooker2025 longlist: A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre (tr. Mark Hutchinson, pub. @LolliEditions), a poignant novel of friendship. Link below...
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davidsbookworld.com/2025/03/…

#InternationalBooker2025: A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre (tr. Mark Hutchinson)

The Narrator of this novel remembers his late friend Fanny. She struggled with her mental health, and could often appear distant, holding herself still within her own body. But there was a lighter …

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Recent reading: The Bridge Between Worlds by @gavinfranc (pub. @canongatebooks). A fascinating tour of bridges and what they mean, combining history, geography, memoir, culture, and more besides.
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davidsbookworld.com/2025/01/…

The Bridge Between Worlds: A Brief History of Connection by Gavin Francis

In his preface to this book, Gavin Francis writes that his interest in bridges began in childhood, from the Forth Rail Bridge just a few miles from his house, to a Ladybird book about bridges (whic…

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Wishing you a Happy New Year!
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My favourite books read in 2024: featuring Jeffrey Lewis, Hiroko Oyamada, Helene Hanff and Noémi Kiss-Deáki. davidsbookworld.com/2024/12/…

A selection of 2024 favourites

2024 was another year when, for whatever reason, I just didn’t click with reading in general as much as I would have liked. There’s no point dwelling on it, I just hope this will turn a…

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Merry Christmas!
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David Hebblethwaite retweeted
Dan Hartland@danhartland
27 Oct 2024
Three whole reviews last week at @strangehorizons … @R_Turkewitz on Priest, @David_Heb on Kim, Pritchett on Wells: come for the spooky-season thrills of Cinderwich, stay for the litfic weird of The Black Orb & reissued classic of Wheel of the Infinite. strangehorizons.com/issue/21…

21 October 2024

Visit the post for more.

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