The Echo Chamber, John Boyne

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Meet the Cleverleys, a privileged family with George being a popular presenter on the BBC, Beverly a bestselling author (with a ghost writer), and their three children Nelson, Elizabeth, and Achilles, figuring out how to be in the world. We are introduced to the two parents in learning about the affairs they have been engaged in, while convincing themselves they are loyal to their spouse. This doesn’t give us a great first impression of them. When we meet Nelson he is dressed in scrubs but unwilling to help a man in need of medical attention on the tube. Elizabeth and her boyfriend Wilkes are addicted to growing their social media following, doing charitable works but documenting everything online. Achilles has found a lucrative side hustle (he is still in school) of blackmailing potential sugar daddies, most of whom have far less money than his family. When George trips up in a tweet about a transgender receptionist his decades of carefully curating a liberal persona look to be at risk. 

All of the characters in this book are fairly terrible, perhaps with the exception of Nelson, who craves love and lacks confidence. Even the side characters are caricaturish and constantly make bad decisions. I’m not against an unlikeable character but when the entire novel is populated exclusively by unsympathetic, selfish, morally dubious characters it does become difficult to really enjoy what you’re reading. Boyne counters this somewhat with humour, and although this is obviously meant as satire it is so overblown that it loses its power. I was expecting to be challenged by the ills of social media, a topic I’m very open to, but I didn’t leave the book with any insights or really a feeling that the focus was actually on social media. Yes, there are some characters who have a deeply unhealthy relationship with their phones, and cancel culture is examined, but in such a belittling way, where every player is demeaned you’re not left with a strong feeling on where your sympathy is meant to lie. George is the ‘victim’ of cancel culture but he suffers no real consequences. The main message of the book seems to be that if you’re wealthy and powerful you can do what you want. Boyne’s own troubles with social media criticism may be fuelling some of his disdain for keyboard warriors. Elizabeth has two Twitter accounts, her personal one, and a secret one in which she attacks everyone and anyone without distinction. Indeed, she also sends vile messages to her friends and family, and it is her response that makes George’s tweet go viral. I don’t think many of us really believe pile-ons are a good thing, but Boyne’s disdain for ‘woke’ and anyone who questions the old order feels very dismissive. This is especially reinforced because we repeatedly see those pretending to be wounded that their liberalism is being questioned espousing offensive views outside of the public eye. His attacks on incidental characters also feel unnecessarily mean.

Boyne attempts to link in social media further by using flashbacks to happier times for the Cleverleys, ending with a note on which social media platform was being launched at the time, as though this is linked to the paths their lives take, except he doesn’t demonstrate this. Indeed, it is only really Twitter and some Instagram that is used to any great effect throughout the novel, so the creation of Facebook or TikTok etc is even more irrelevant. Of course it’s all tied, but there is no demonstration that the root cause of the family’s shortcomings is social media or smart phones. It seems more to be their sense of self-importance and the knowledge that their positions give them free reign to do as they please. Even the epilogue which is presumably meant to show how much happier life is away from phones doesn’t really show anything more than that there are no real consequences for them for their bad behaviour.

The characters are all seemingly interlinked, often through Pylyp, former Strictly Come Dancing partner to Beverly, the man she’s having an affair with, as has most of her family. The fact some of them would have been underage at the time is completely swept aside, as is Elizabeth’s passing comment about the unhealthy sexual relationships she’s been in in the past. Every time a new character is introduced you wonder how they will fit into this broader story. Initially this was quite interesting, it did become a little tiresome after a while, and then toward the end there is one final link in the chain that you don’t see coming. Pylyp also brings in a character which for many may be their favourite - the tortoise Ustym Karmaliuk. When he goes back to Ukraine to visit family he leaves the tortoise with Beverly, with strict instructions on how to care for him. Considering her lack of care for her children and work, you can imagine how well this goes. 

At times I did enjoy this book and raced through it. The characters and the way they act can feel so outrageous at times that it is funny, and I was interested to find out what would happen next. Some of the connections between characters were intriguing and it was interesting to see how they played out. It lost me a bit toward the end and I think it was probably because literally every character that was introduced, whether for a scene or for the duration were just not nice people, and often for seemingly no reason. We can see that the Cleverley children have been somewhat neglected by their parents and have had to find their own way through the challenges of the teenage years and young adulthood. It is not touched on often but in passing we are told that Nelson has never felt safe and loved, that Elizabeth has experienced difficulties in relationships, and has turned to social media for validation and a sense of being. George and Beverly are openly rude about people they don’t like, and make no secret of which of their children they like best and what they think their shortcomings are. They want their children to move out but don’t stop to consider that perhaps they haven’t prepared them with the skills they need to succeed in the world. There are a lot of potentially interesting avenues this book could have gone down but Boyne chooses not to. The satire is too widely spread to have much of an impact and the characters feel like shallow stereotypes so you’re not really invested. Again, for me, Nelson was the exception. If you’re new to Boyne I would recommend trying one of his other books.

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Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

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Austen’s most famous novel introduces us to the Bennets, a family of daughters all in need of a husband. Mrs Bennet uses all her energy trying to engineer good matches for them while Mr Bennet subtly undermines her. The girls (aside from Mary, who gets very little page time) are excited at the prospect of balls and the soldiers who are staying nearby. When Mr Bingley rents a local estate there are high hopes that one of the Bennets will catch his eye, but with his unfriendly companion Mr Darcy by his side there may be unexpected complications. Will Mrs Bennet succeed in securing good matchers for all five girls, and will they marry the men they want or be stuck with a man merely for his position?

Austen builds the world humorously, focusing in on the relatively small lives of her characters. Ignoring the world of politics and war that was raging around them, she allows us to be sucked into the world of the Bennets, where an invitation to a ball is much sought after, not receiving a letter from your beloved is a tragedy, and the wealth of your family has a huge impact on your prospects. Coming in to this book I had expected it to be mainly about Elizabeth and Mr Darcy so was surprised to discover that although they do get a little more time than others, it is really about the whole family. There are many love stories, and I actually found theirs one of the least convincing. Darcy is rude and unfriendly to begin with, and although we do see from quite an early stage that he is developing feelings for Elizabeth, against his better judgment, there is little affection from her for the majority of the book. Indeed, most of the characters think poorly of him throughout, and although she does learn information that begins to move her to a more sympathetic attitude, knowing that someone isn’t entirely a terrible person isn’t the same as falling in love. Toward the end of the novel when news of their relationship is revealed to her family she is questioned on her affection for him, it coming as a great surprise. Her quip that she saw Pemberley, and that was enough, doesn’t seem all that far from reality. Her thoughts when she first sees the gardens there are that she wouldn’t mind being mistress of such a place. Her anxiety in getting approval from her father feels genuine and well drawn but otherwise her feelings aren’t well developed. Perhaps because it’s such a famous story, even if you know none of the details you know that theirs is the central love story, it shifts how you approach it, but without that foreknowledge I think I would have been quite surprised by her sudden desire to marry Darcy. Coming to the book with the perception that is it a love story and with the modern idea of romance colours your expectations. Elizabeth slowly grows in affection for Darcy as she comes to know his true character and in doing so realises that he could make a suitable life partner, and one whose wealth will keep her comfortable. 

Jane’s love story feels more heartfelt. We see her pining for Bingley, and suffering from his absence. You hope that things will work out for her. Lydia’s elopement is one of the more exciting sections of the novel with the family galvanising to get her back safely. We see the suffering of those left behind waiting for news, and the concern for what sad outcomes might result. Austen’s final say on each of the marriages also adds a sense of reality to it all, this isn’t a happily ever after book, marriages work but the first flushes of affection don’t remain the same. These girls are very young, teens and early 20s, and have no experience of romantic relationships before they’re married. 

The characters are largely quite memorable. There is humour and flaws in them all. Mrs Bennet from the off is depicted as being overly concerned with marrying her daughters off, with her husband being somewhat exasperated and bored by the whole thing. Much as she may go too far, it is completely understandable that she would want her daughters to be in a financially secure position when their father dies. This was not a time when women were generally able to support themselves, especially those who had grown up in genteel surroundings. Readers will laugh in slight horror at her willingness to send Jane off deliberately into the rain, without a carriage, so that she will be forced to stay with Bingley. Her mother is little concerned that she falls ill as a result, and once assured that it is not a serious ailment her priority is to keep her at Bingley’s for as long as possible, against the wishes of both Jane and Elizabeth, who has gone to tend to her. Darcy comments later in the novel in a moment of unguarded honesty, that her mother’s behaviour is off-putting to potential suitors. Mr Bennet manages to be a likeable character despite his not always being kind to his wife, a fact that is remarked upon later in the novel. He doesn’t do anything outrageous and he is interested in his daughters making decisions based on what they want, rather than what is deemed a good match. Nonetheless, he should probably be more concerned with ensuring their wellbeing when he is no longer around. We are constantly told what a good-hearted woman Jane is, and although she doesn’t do anything wrong I’m not sure that we are shown her demonstrating this all that much. Elizabeth is strong-willed and opinionated, but also kind and concerned for the wellbeing of her sisters. She feels quite modern.

I have read some Jane Austen previously and admit I was never much of a fan, but am glad to have given her another go. Pride and Prejudice is an enjoyable read which made me chuckle multiple times throughout. Although written over two hundred years ago, and set in family life and society that is different to that most modern readers will relate to, the characters and their hopes, dreams and flaws, all feel very relatable and timeless. The writing is easy to get in to and although the story is quite gentle there is plenty to keep your interest.

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Antwerp: The Glory Years, Michael Pye

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Pye takes us on a tour of sixteenth century Antwerp, its glory years. In this fascinating book you will learn much about the importance of the city for trade and the spread of intellectual ideas, and the way everything became an industry with funeral monuments being sent out as kits to be assembled and painters creating advanced forms of paint by numbers for others in their workshops to work up. He talks also of how difficult it is to piece together Antwerp’s history with huge gaps in the records available in the city itself. Instead, researchers are forced to visit cities in other countries to find snippets of information in order to cobble together a picture of this remarkable city. You are left with the sense of its success having been transitory, riotous, and important far beyond its walls.

Antwerp was a hub of trade but also of intellectual exchange, with their printing presses putting out books for countries across Europe. Indeed, they printed the controversial edition of the Bible in English, but Pye assures us this doesn’t mean the printers were taking sides. The same books could very well have been burned the following week. There were also newsletters printed and made readily available at booksellers which encouraged the exchange of ideas in the city in a very accessible form. Antwerp was a city that was looked to as a source of knowledge. It had impressive botanic gardens when they were quite rare elsewhere and knowledge was sought from them, even from enquirers from countries where the plant in question was native.

It was a market for luxury but also mass production. There was a notable shift away from the commissioning of artists directly to going through a dealer, buying paintings that the artist was going to paint anyway. Some worked hard at ensuring their style matched the national style of the purchaser. As things progressed a process more akin to a production line emerged. Drawings for paintings would be reused and instructions given so that assistants could paint them, with the artist checking the final piece with the customer and making any final adjustments. By 1515 there were more than 100 workshops in full production in the city.

As with many growing cities, day to day life wasn’t always pleasant. Crime was rife and the growing population encouraged the spread of disease. Locals didn’t fully take advantage of the boom, investing in property with the expectation that it would remain desirable. Once traders moved on to Amsterdam they were left with investments that were worth very little. Water quality was poor which meant the beer was not good, but the Emperor was determined that local beer should still be the main ones consumed, bringing in punishments for anyone found to be drinking foreign beer within a three and a half mile radius of the city walls. 

As someone who knew very little of the city’s history before reading this book, I found it fascinating. When visiting Antwerp I spent a happy few hours in the Plantin-Moretus Museum, and so I was interested to see what an important role Plantin played in Antwerp’s status. As with any history of a European city, other countries on the continent play a role and so we see famous figures from abroad, such as William Tyndale, make an appearance. Having recently read Wolf Hall I noted the frequency with which Antwerp is mentioned, and it was good to fill in the gaps about why it was such a notable city. A great read if you’re planning a trip to Antwerp or have an interest in the history of arts, culture, and trade.

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Prisoners of Geography, Tim Marshall

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Tim Marshall’s bestselling book on geopolitics was completely updated in 2025, bringing it as up to date as possible, although events in early 2026 have moved the story on significantly in some parts of the world. The main thesis of the book is that geography plays a huge role in the way countries develop, interact, and compete with each other. Geography essentially forces leaders’ hands into actions. Even with advancing technology mitigating the effects of geography somewhat, Marshall argues people ignore geography at their peril.

In his introduction he acknowledges that there are major countries missing from the book, that they could fill a whole book on their own. This is not a comprehensive examination of the whole world, but a dive into specific regions and the ways geography has impacted their development. It was interesting to think about the way the geography of Europe makes exchange of ideas and goods much easier than in South America, for example. Other continents have attempted to bring together countries in a union similar to that of the EU but mountain ranges, rivers with frequent waterfalls, and deep rainforest make it a much more difficult project. Africa too has suffered from the way the geography splits up the land and resources, and we see how major powers take advantage of this. It also makes you appreciate what an impossible task it is to lead a country such as the United States of America or Russia, where the landscapes are so varied and the way people live their lives differs hugely from one area to the other. 

There is a large section on Russia and it makes you think about the natural resources available to the country. Marshall highlights the absence of a warm water port and the resulting obsession with having control of Crimea. It doesn’t excuse Putin’s behaviour but it does make you understand a bit more of the logic of his ambitions. As someone who doesn’t have any great knowledge of geopolitics, it was fascinating to gain a greater understanding of why the world looks the way it does now. Of course, it was also quite emotional reading sections relating to areas which are currently in conflict. For leaders it may be a case of thinking about resources and securing their future, but it must never be forgotten that these are individual lives being torn apart in the process. Reading it, you can’t help but think if the world’s leaders could work together to share resources the world would be a much more peaceful place. The borders of countries, are after all, fairly arbitrary lines drawn on a map.

We see again and again how true this is in areas impacted by colonialism in the past few centuries. Leaders from far away countries would look at a map and carve up countries without any thought to either the geography of the nations nor the communities who live there. Most famously this has caused decades of unrest between India and Pakistan, but we see that this is not an isolated incident. Marshall considers how one might resolve these difficulties and explores the complexity of redrawing borders. It’s not as simple as putting it back to how it was before - everywhere has had so many iterations of borders that choosing what point in history to return to is almost impossible, and inevitably causes yet more strife.

This is a very readable overview of the geopolitics of nations across the globe (although Oceania is largely ignored) which will make you think more deeply about the factors that position your home country where it is. It also makes you consider what the future will look like as technology develops further, humans seek to colonise space, and discussions over who has claims to the Antarctic continue. One thing that feels certain is that conflicts will always be present somewhere in the world, and that we have a tiny fragment of world events reported to us through major news outlets. 

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The Enchanted April, Elizabeth Von Arnim

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When Mrs Wilkins sees an advert for a castle to rent in Italy for ‘those who appreciate wistaria and sunshine’ she is overtaken by an unexpected desire to take up the property and escape from her dreary life for a month. She sees another woman, Mrs Arbuthnot, notice the advert and senses in her the same longing. Completely out of character for them both they decide to enquire, and on finding the rent rather steep, seek two more women to share the cost. Before they know it they are arriving in Italy and acquainting themselves with the castle which is to be their home for the month of April. Mrs Fisher and Lady Caroline arrive separately to Wilkins and Arbuthnot and there is an ongoing silent battle over who should be in the role of host. Lady Caroline wants to be left alone, worn out by London society and the attention her good looks bring. Mrs Fisher doesn’t appear to have any great aspirations for the holiday but puts herself in the role of ensuring decorum is maintained. She finds Mrs Wilkins entirely too excitable and informal.

There is not much in the way of plot in this novel, it is merely a gentle meditation on the lives of women in the 1920s, on marriage and expectation, on finding your own desires. As the novel progresses we see each woman come to realisations about themselves. Mrs Wilkins is the most immediately and obviously changed, feeling the weight and drudgery of life float away. She spends her days on long walks, picnicking by herself in the landscape around the castle. Her heart is so lightened by the experience that she invites her husband to stay with them. Lady Caroline fears that the other women will want to be her friend and ruin her peace, but she soon finds that actually she wishes Mrs Wilkins would bother her more. She spends her days thinking and realises that she has been mean and shallow. Throughout she is frustrated by the fact that when she tries to be unpleasant to others they don’t realise - her voice is so sweet and her looks so pretty that they are merely enchanted. We come to see in Mrs Arbuthnot a longing to be important to another person. Before she left London we saw that her marriage was not a happy one. Her husband makes money in ways she doesn’t approve of and marriage has made her pious and judgmental. When her husband arrives he is reminded of who she was before they were married, a similar experience to that of Mr and Mrs Wilkins, and you feel sad for them that they have spent so long being unhappy in their marriages.

Our first impressions of Mrs Arbuthnot and Wilkins are positive. Mrs Wilkins seems fairly innocent in her enthusiasm and looks forward to preparing the castle for the other two women, wanting to see their pleasure when they arrive. Lady Caroline and Mrs Fisher show no such signs of conviviality, taking the best rooms for themselves and moving unwanted furniture into the rooms Mrs Wilkins and Arbuthnot will inhabit. Certainly I felt great affection for Mrs Wilkins, and Mrs Fisher’s dislike of her, ignoring her as much as possible, feels unkind. The castle does eventually work its magic on them all however, and they see the good in each other that perhaps they couldn’t at the beginning. Mrs Fisher generally approves of Mrs Arbuthnot, but unaware that she sees herself as the host, is confused by her constant response to being offered tea or food being to offer it back. This is the kind of gentle humour littered throughout.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were characters that you related to from the start, others that were harder around the edges. There was a real innocence to Mrs Wilkins and Arbuthnot planning the trip, the descriptions likening their feelings to that of having been with a lover. These are women who have become trapped by their domestic lives, and whose courage to do something different frees them from those invisible shackles, allowing them to discover themselves once more.

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None Of This Is True, Lisa Jewell

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When Josie Fair and Alix Summers both decide to celebrate their birthdays in the same pub, their chance encounter will change both their lives forever. Alix is a successful podcaster, interviewing inspiring women. Josie works quite happily in a sewing repair shop. She begins listening to Alix’s podcast after their meeting and decides that she should be the next guest, not as an already successful woman, but as someone on the brink of changing their life. As their interviews develop we learn more about Josie’s life - the husband she met in her teens (when he was in his forties), the troubles with her children when they were young, and the ongoing struggles with them. One of her daughters appears to be estranged, the other doesn’t leave her bedroom and will only eat baby food. Josie seems to want to be Alix, jealous of her beautiful home and success. Alix and her husband Nathan become increasingly uncomfortable with her presence in their home but she makes it difficult for them to be free of her. How far will she go to hold on to the illusion of closeness between them?

From the first time they meet the contrast between Josie and Alix is stark. Josie is celebrating her birthday with her husband, with whom she seems to have little to say. Alix is surrounded by friends and family and enjoys a livelier celebration. When we see Josie and her husband Walter at home they seem unhappy together. Silently occupying the same house but not really living their lives together. She expresses a desire to change her life, a feeling that life has just kind of happened to her but now it’s time for her to take control. Alix lives a life of comfort, with a husband who allows her to spend his money without question. It’s not perfect, however, Nathan has recently begun going on all night benders, returning late the next day, and she questions whether she should stay with him. Josie enjoys having a shared hardship, but also feels let down that Alix, a woman she admires so much, puts up with being treated badly. 

The story that emerges from their podcast interviews is a dark one. We learn of how Walter effectively groomed Josie, of how he goes into their daughter’s bedroom each night. Josie suspects he is abusing her but does nothing about it. Repeatedly we see her in situations where she opts to be an observer rather than actively participating or protecting those in her care. The things she admit to Alix make her look bad as well as many members of her family, but when Alix meets Josie’s mother and others who have known Josie in the past she begins to get a sense that perhaps Josie isn’t entirely telling the truth. Throughout the novel are short interludes of interviews from a Netflix documentary made about Alix and Josie in which others confirm that Josie is not all that she seems and that although she may paint herself as the victim she isn’t perceived as such by others. Of course, the title of the book suggests we should be wary of believing everything we’re being told, but some of her claims are hard to believe someone would make up.

This is an interesting read which kept me up reading just another chapter. It’s dark and twisty and somewhat uncomfortable to read at times as a result. The way we are drip fed information and then given different perspectives by characters that Josie has conditioned us not to believe is an interesting technique. We don’t see much of Walter’s perspective, just through Josie’s eyes, and Nathan too we mostly see through a veil of other people’s opinions. Toward the end we begin to understand a little more of the truth, although at the book club discussion I learnt that some editions have a bonus chapter which makes you reassess how you think about the characters by the end. A book in which nothing is ever quite as it seems and everyone seems to have an agenda. A gripping read but not one that left a lasting impression.

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Bruges-La-Morte, Georges Rodenbach

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Hugues Viane lost his wife five years ago and moved to Bruges, a city he considered decaying and melancholy, in order to fully indulge his grief, seeing his deceased wife reflected around the city. He lives alone with only the company of his servant Barbe. One evening, having been to Church to reflect on his loss, he encounters a woman who he believes resembles his wife almost exactly. What follows is an unsettling affair in which he tries to turn her into the woman he loved while increasingly realising that it is an illusion. He never speaks to Jane, his new beau, about his former love and she is unaware that his obsession with her is based on her resemblance. Putting her up in a home separate from his, keeping their relationship a secret, this is not a healthy situation. When they fall out he has to consider whether he has fallen for Jane for herself or if it is merely the illusion of his former wife that sustains them. Her eventual demand to come to his home leads to the climax of the book. 

Jane as a character is not particularly developed. We see her through Hugues’ eyes, and it is only approaching the climax of the novel that we begin to see more of her mindset. Tired of his strange behaviour she has begun to consider whether it is worth continuing the relationship merely to benefit financially - he is older than her and she suspects it would not be too long before she could inherit. For the most part you feel quite sorry for her but her behaviour in his home becomes quite uncomfortable, although we are left once more feeling that she is a victim of Hugues’ obsession.

Hugues begins by being quite a sympathetic character. Yes, he seem to indulge in his grief, but his emotions are painful and you feel for him. However, his behaviour toward Jane is frequently unacceptable and unhealthy. The power balance between them is uneven, although she does possess power in the chance resemblance to his wife - he would not want to lose her. This is not a love story however, it is one of dangerous obsession and the fetishisation of the dead. A sense of melancholy hangs over the whole book and Rodenbach works hard to bring the city itself into the mood of the book. In the original he published photographs alongside the text, and this has been replicated with more recent photographs in the current edition. These depict empty streets and canals, offering a somewhat haunting sensation very different to the experience of a modern visitor to the city. Locals are said to have been unhappy with the novel when it was originally published, depicting their city as a place of death and decay when they were attempting to revive it as a place of industry. 

An interesting book that modern readers may find somewhat overwritten. The introductory essay by Alan Hollinghurst and essay ‘The Death Throes of Towns’ give us an insight in Rodenbach’s fascination with Bruges and his perspective on it as a city of faded glory. A strange, disturbing novel which evokes a very particular time and mindset. 

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