Grounded in the UK, Scarlett Cayford is nostalgic for a very specific reading experience. In order to qualify as an “airport book” a novel must meet a very specific set of requirements. The first, unsurprisingly, is that it must be purchased at an airport. But this is far from being the only defining characteristic of … Read more
Scarlett Cayford stumbles, ravenous, into a glorious new world. I go through phases with my reading, like any bibliophile. Sometimes my life can barely keep pace with my reading, and I find myself wedging pages of books into my calendar wherever I can: in waiting rooms and on bus seats and in the first five … Read more
Marian Keyes is a stone-cold legend: terrifically funny and emotionally intelligent, and never afraid of the dark. She deserves all the prizes. In lieu of that, here’s a heartfelt piece by Scarlett Cayford, who grew up steeped in Keyes’ stories and sensibilities. My first encounter with Marian Keyes was in a bedroom in Devonport in … Read more
City of Girls is not a cautionary tale, but rather a celebration of what happens when women cease to be cautious, writes Scarlett Cayford. I’ve loved Liz Gilbert for a while now. It wasn’t Eat, Pray, Love that won me over, though I have read it a multitude of times as it was one of … Read more
Petition for superfreak Scarlett Cayford to judge the Women’s Prize for Fiction next year: she read her way through the entire 2019 longlist, for fun. Here are her reckons on the top six. Sally Rooney’s Normal People, which has been subject to unremitting praise, didn’t make the cut while Anna Burns’ Booker Prize-winning Milkman scored … Read more
The author of Fifty Shades of Grey is back, with more unintentionally hilarious catchphrases and “linguistically bankrupt fondling of a clitoris”. The Mister opens with an extremely important piece of translation – the difference between the word “daily” in US vernacular (a newspaper published every day but Sunday) and UK parlance (a woman who is employed to … Read more
The 2019 Man Booker prize is announced next week. Scarlett Cayford reviews two of the shortlisted novels, Milkman by Anna Burns and Everything Under by Daisy Johnson. The first pages of Milkman by Anna Burns feel like the beginning of a dystopian novel. We’re familiar with the conventions: a feeling of being observed, an urgent … Read more
‘Now I’m old and introspective and critical,’ writes Scarlett Cayford, ‘let me tell you why the young adult fiction penned by New Zealand women in the 90s is some of the best in the world.’ This story was first published 21 June 2017. When I think back to the first books I read, my first … Read more
All week this Christmas week we countdown the best six books of 2017. Number three: the first book in Philip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy, La Belle Sauvage, described by our London correspondent Scarlett Cayford as ‘just about perfect’. I was doubtful. I saw Pullman speak on the banks of the very river that takes centre stage in La … Read more
The hotly-anticipated film version of Margaret Mahy’s novel The Changeover opens in cinemas today. Scarlett Cayford examines the peculiar genius of Mahy, and compares the film with the book. I associate Margaret Mahy with colour; I suspect I’m not the only one. Part of the reason is the rainbow wig she wore to all her readings, … Read more
‘The book is the catalyst, the key.’ An essay by Scarlett Cayford about the secret society of book clubs. When I moved to London, I joined a book club. It was an easy decision to make – I wanted to meet new people, I’m terrible at most team sports, and I have a lot of … Read more
‘Now I’m old and introspective and critical,’ writes Scarlett Cayford, ‘let me tell you why the young adult fiction penned by New Zealand women in the 90s is some of the best in the world.’ When I think back to the first books I read, my first thought falls to Sweet Valley High, and my … Read more