Lizard by L.Schick and Little Roasts

(Note to reader: I’ve a copy of Lizard to giveaway and all details can be found at the end of this post)

Lizard - L.Schick: Eliza Young’s leg has acquired a scaly mutation. She travels to an island to work as an au pair, but finds herself trespassing on a reptilian civilisation. Lizard follows her bizarre and engrossing struggle to adapt to the changes in her leg and her life.

For someone with knowledge of Kafka, the opening few pages wink in his direction, but those winks are like tiny little flirting gestures because this novella is fresh, modern and Eliza’s voice is utterly accessible. There is a quietness in the voice, an understating, a covering of reality, of depth and always a sense of the unexpected. And as Eliza’s state of mind alters, so does the delicacy of her voice. The linguist in me is left smiling.

Someone asked me a few months back if I’d written this book, I didn’t, but I wish that I had. Troubled, unnerving, yet utterly clever, another great delivery from Roast Books.

Lizard can be bought here.

Little Roasts - A Collection of Stories: Little Roasts is a collection of short stories set in London, Canada, India and the USA.

4 short stories, each by a different writer, each complimenting and contrasting. A short and utterly enjoyable read. I know that it’s wrong to have favourites, but Rowena Macdonald’s voice made me Google her name to see if she’d written anything else. Like everything that Roast Books publish, a delicious little read.

Little Roasts can be bought here.

The publisher, Roast Books:

The concept of these small, textured books, with flaps - well they’re all worthy of praise. I found myself stroking them, accepting them as beautiful objects in my desire to keep and collect. Roast Books promise to delivery and clearly have:

‘GREAT LITTLE READS’, HANDSOME EDITIONS DESIGNED TO BE READ ON A LONG LUNCH HOUR OR SINGLE TRAIN JOURNEY’.

I’ve now read 3 books from the Great Little Reads collection from Roast Books . (I reviewed Selling Light here). This collection of books (I think that there are 6 in the set) are slender, they’re beautiful, they’re full of character and they need to be stroked. I’ve said it before, to many different people, but if you like original, literary and unusual books that are finished to a high standard, then this new publisher is one to watch.

And, the rather nice people at Roast Books have agreed that I can give away a copy of Lizard by L.Schick. All you have to do is leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) August 13, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select a winner. This competition is open to all.