One of the things we are lucky to have in Henley are great independent bookshops and one of the UK’s most popular literary events, the Henley Literary Festival, so we thought it was time that Experience Henley got a bit bookish and to have a regular Book Review.

For this we needed a true book lover and book worm. So there was no one better that we could think of than Tom Ryan. We love Tom’s debut review for Experience Henley and we guarantee that he will have you wanting to have a read of one or more of these four book choices he’s made.

For this time when so many of us haven’t really been going anywhere or seeing many people, I wanted to share some books that take us everywhere and look at our relationships with the creatures that surround us. That is certainly the case with Bestiary, the debut novel from poet K-Ming Chang. Her exhilarating writing takes us through generations, to sky and sea and from the mundane to the magical. Going in I knew this was about a young woman who starts growing a tiger tail but that barely prepared me for where the story would go. Brimming full of ideas and brilliant lines (my favourite: “I considered telling my mother but she always said holes were dangerous and led only to disappearance: They’re the number-one leading cause of loss.”). 

For younger readers also looking to escape beyond our current limited circumstances I highly recommend A Secret of Birds & Bone by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Set in a historical Italy of the author’s invention, we follow Sofia, her little brother Ermin and their crow as they navigate the mysterious side of city in search of their mother. Older children who have developed a taste for magical realism from reading JK Rowling, Philip Pullman, CS Lewis and others are in for a treat with this brilliantly told tale, offering hope for post-plague recovery that we can all take comfort from, regardless of age. 

With the news so often feeling stranger than fiction, the best kind of non-fiction books are ones that both help us to make sense of the world around us – and to be at peace with the fact that sometimes sense will simply not be found! Last month I had the pleasure of chairing an online event with nature writer Esther Woolfson, who has made exploring how we live with our species her life’s work – and, indeed, her life as she has shared her home with birds (most notably a rook named Chicken who lived to 31 and now a crow named Ziki) for decades. Following her debut Corvus (a Radio 4 Book of the Week) and Field Notes From a Hidden City, her latest book Between Light and Storm is a wide-ranging, utterly fascinating look at how we interact with the various creatures around us. From owning and loving to consuming and portraying in art (Beatrix Potter’s dismissive take on Wind in the Willows – “A frog may wear galoshes but I don’t hold with toads having beards or wigs” – quoted here neatly sums up the so often arbitrary nature of what we do and don’t find acceptable when it comes to our mostly oblivious animal neighbours.) Starting at the very beginning of existence, this book is one full of considered reflection and interesting facts, such as wolves being the first domesticated animal and the seemingly-fragile robin often living to the age of 19 (“But Grandad is 72” was my little niece’s response when I excitedly shared this when we saw one in the garden). 

Human frailty and strength are at the heart of my final and favourite new release, the unique and unmissable Many Different Kinds of Loveby Michael Rosen. The story of his against-the-odds survival after a months-long battle with COVID is brought to life by his trademark poetry – blending humour and hopefulness, anger and admiration (“They’ve been worried/about my low blood pressure/but they’ve brought me the Daily Mail/so it’ll be fine in just a moment”) – as well as real-time accounts from his wife and the NHS staff who worked tirelessly to save his life.

If you are interested in reading any of these books, please do ask at a local bookshop if they stock it before purchasing online – Support Local

In between reading books and being an uncle to six, Tom Ryan works in events and communications with – amongst others – Henley Literary Festival, Jewish Book Week, Reading Fringe Festival and Henley Santa’s Grotto.