All Book Reviews

Hargrave reads voraciously and diversely — mostly antiquarian and classic books in translation. These are her book reviews.

While she reads more books than she could possibly write about, she does consistently post weekly reviews. New reviews are posted on Mondays.

Looking for one of the books that have been reviewed? Want to find some vintage treasures of your own? Second-hand and used books are unique and eco-friendly, and can be found at your local independent bookseller. If you’re looking for an American bookseller, you can check here. UK booksellers can be found here.

If you’d prefer to buy books online, many vintage and rare editions can be found at ThriftBooks.

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The Queen of Spades

Alexander Pushkin
Romantic Era Russian Literature

The premise might be an old one, but what Pushkin does with it is worthy of praise. His writing flows with a concise clarity that is poetic in and of itself.

The Queen of Spades is a novella that is not too short and not too long. It’s a perfect short read for an afternoon or an evening, clocking in at approximately 82 pages including the prologue. The clarity of the prose and the flow of it make the reader nearly fly through it and want to finish it in one sitting if at all possible. This is a review of A. S. Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades.

Cancer Ward

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Contemporary Russian Literature

I’ll always remember the hospital and the hospital basement as one of the settings of my childhood. I spent a lot of time there and listening to my mother’s stories of what it’s like to work in healthcare. This is a review of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Cancer Ward.

Wilhelm Tell

Friedrich von Schiller
Romantic Era German Theatre

This play is not just about politics. It tells the story of a personal revolution in the character of Wilhelm Tell himself. This is a review of Friedrich von Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell.

Lark Rise to Candleford

Flora Thompson
Contemporary UK Memoir

These novels aren’t exactly ‘novels’ per se, in the sense that they are not traditionally structured narratives. Instead, they are more of a collection of stories about rural life in the later nineteenth century. This is a review of Flora Thompson’s Lark Rise to Candleford.

Poor Folk

Fyodor Dostoevsky
Victorian Era Russian Literature

The narrative is a relatively simple one, but within it Dostoevsky’s writing really shines. This is a review of Dostoevsky’s Poor Folk.

Of Human Bondage

W. Somerset Maugham
Wartime UK Literature

I was first introduced to this book via the 1934 film of the same name that was very loosely based on it. We watched it on Turner Classic Movies one evening and I thought perhaps that the novel would fill in some of the gaps that I saw in the film. This is a review of W. Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage.

The Beggar’s Opera

John Gay
18th Century UK Theatre

I’d actually heard of this book several years before finding it by chance on the shelf of the local bookstore. I couldn’t resist purchasing it, if only to find out why it was so heavily referenced. This is a review of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera.

Japanese Ghost Stories

Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo)
Victorian Era Japanese Short Story

Why do I like ghost stories? I like them because I like to hear stories. I like to suspend my disbelief for that instant why I wonder if they could happen. I like them because I like to read stories about a version of reality that is just a bit off-kilter and unexplained. This is a review of Lafcadio Hearn’s Japanese Ghost Stories.

The Case Against Satan

Ray Russell
Contemporary American Horror

For a few years, starting when I was twelve or thirteen I followed the same ritual on Friday nights. Right after dinner, as dusk was falling, I’d walk to the mall across the street and enter the store, making a beeline to my favourite section — the horror movies. This is a review of Ray Russell’s The Case Against Satan.

Don’t Look Now

Daphne du Maurier
Contemporary UK Short Story

This week’s Halloween in August pick is from a classic horror writer. It’s a collection of five stories all of them sharing a tone of unease, some with themes of the supernatural, others more about a mystery. This is a review of Daphne du Maurier’s Don’t Look Now.