A Common Reader is . . .

. . . written by Tom Cunliffe, of East Sussex, England (to read more about me see my About page).

It consists of book reviews and more general articles about reading and currently receives over 10,000 unique visitors each month. So far 290 book reviews have been published.


My currently-reading shelf:
Tom Cunliffe's book recommendations, liked quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (currently-reading shelf)


This website is archived for posterity in the British Library's UK Web Archive

Categories

Archives

Review: Uncle’s Dream – Fyodor Dostoevsky

Its been quite a few years since I last read anything by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I read Crime and Punishment when I was in my early 20s – a perfect age to read the book because it focuses on a young man of similar age, Raskolinkov who decides that murdering his landlady can only be a [...]

Review: Apricot Jam and Other Stories – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

A new book by by Russian giant of literature Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) seems like a throwback to the 1960s and 70s when the Soviet Empire was threatening the world with nuclear holocaust and American politicians spent their days worrying about the spread of communism.   One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch, Cancer Ward, the [...]

Review: The Concert Ticket – Olga Grushin

Olga Grushin has created a novel with all the characteristics of a Russian classic.  The Concert Ticket could have been written by a modern Chekov or Gogol and yet has none of the clunkiness of a translation for it was written in English.  Although Grushin’s story has a basis in real-life events, the author brings [...]