Charlie Recommends

Recommended by Charlie
‘The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas is a deceptively simple novel of immense power. In spare and beautiful prose, Vesaas evokes the icy Norwegian landscape and the uncertainty and longing of the young girls Siss and Unn, whose intense friendship has devastating consequences. It is a remarkable book – profound, disturbing, unforgettable.’

Recommended by Charlie
‘The two novels by the American writer Nella Larsen – Quicksand (1928) and Passing (1929) – are short works that explore complex themes. Like Larsen herself, the protagonists are mixed-race women who challenge contemporary attitudes not only to race but to class, gender and desire. Both books are small masterpieces that deserve to be better known.’