Eric Anderson reviews and writes about books on his blog Lonesome Reader. His review of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt appeared in January. I was thrilled that my novel reminded Eric of Anna Smaill’s The Chimes, a novel I love (see my best reads of 2015 post for Aardvark Bureau/Gallic Books). For [Lena], the rumblings of life … Read more…
Review
Early reviews of Lena Gaunt ahead of UK publication
The official UK publication date of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt (Aardvark Bureau) is 9 January 2016, but – thanks largely to advance copies made available by Gallic Books for Aardvark Bureau via NetGalley – there’s been a steady stream of early reviews appearing on NetGalley, GoodReads and blogs. Thanks so much to everyone who’s … Read more…
New Zealand Books reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Elizabeth Heritage reviewed The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt for New Zealand Books (Issue 109, Autumn 2015) as one of ‘a trio of historical novels that, with varying degrees of success, bring characters and environments from our past (real and imagined to life)’. In her review, titled ‘Characters from the past’, Heritage describes The Life and Loves of … Read more…
Newtown Review of Books reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Jeanette Delamoir has written a terrific long review of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt for The Newtown Review of Books (21 October 2014). Like its narrator, [this novel] is unconventional, sometimes irritating, but always intelligent, intriguing and very closely controlled. Read the full review online at Newtown Review of Books, but be aware … Read more…
Otago Daily Times reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
The review by Ian Williams in the Otago Daily Times (Saturday 23 November 2013) of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt grabbed me — and not in a good way — with its opening sentence: I meant to send this first novel back to the books editor, it seemed so obviously a “woman’s book”. I was poised to get all outraged … Read more…
ANZ LitLovers reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Lisa Hill has posted a lovely review of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt this week on the ANZ LitLovers blog. Here are a few lines from the review. This is an absorbing book that held my interest throughout. Farr captures rapture and tragedy with consummate skill to create so remarkable a portrait, that it’s hard to believe that … Read more…
NZ Listener reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Hazel Phillips reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt in the Listener (Vol 240, No. 3831, October 12-18, 2013); that’s the issue with the starry starry photo of local literary luminary Eleanor Catton on the cover. I’m particularly chuffed to share the page with a review of Fiona Kidman’s new novel, The Infinite Air, as Fiona launched Lena … Read more…
The West Australian reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
A neat little review of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt was published under Writing WA Recommends… on the Books page (editor William Yeoman) of the Today magazine in The West Australian on Tuesday 27 August 2013: Tracy Farr’s beautifully written and well-crafted novel combines music and art as she moves the reader around the globe through the dazzling 30s and 40s. This … Read more…
Adelaide Advertiser reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Patrick Allington reviewed The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt in SA Weekend magazine, Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 24 August 2013: Farr’s prose soars…this sparkling debut novel captures the spirit of an accomplished woman as she reflects on the arc of her long life.
Books+Publishing Reviews features The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt was reviewed in Books+Publishing Reviews (feature review, 30 May 2013 newsletter). Grateful thanks to Books+Publishing for permission to quote the full text of this subscriber-only review here. The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt (Tracy Farr, Fremantle Press, September), 4 stars, reviewed by Katie Haydon, Books+Publishing Reviews, 30 May 2013. To encompass a person’s whole life in … Read more…