Brixton Nights by Amy Tollyfield received amazing feedback in the BookLife Prize 2023 Critic’s Report
The ‘BookLife Prize’ is run by Publishers Weekly
You can read the BookLife Prize 2023 Critic’s Report below
You can also read this report by visiting:
https://booklife.com/project/brixton-nights-80150
‘BookLife Prize 2023
Plot/Idea: 8 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.75 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Tollyfield’s impactful story centers on Christina, who comes of age in a troubled home in a working class area of England. In adulthood, as a 30-something lesbian woman, she remains unfulfilled and unable to fully commit to a relationship, continually pursued by the heavy toll from her youth. Though the narrative unfolds quietly, the story remains hard-hitting and emotionally candid.
Prose: Told in the first-person—through flashbacks to Christina’s youth and her present day experiences—the prose is stirring and evocative.
Originality: While the search for love and affirmation following traumatic circumstances is familiar territory, Tollyfield offers Christina a unique narrative arc, while bringing striking atmosphere and brutal realism to the pages.
Character/Execution: Christina is a well-developed character, pulsing with sadness and plagued by regret. Supporting characters, with the exception of Simone and some of Christina’s short-term girlfriends, are similarly disenchanted. Regardless, Tollyfield’s lyricism elevates the storytelling, never allowing the characters or circumstances to surrender to gloom.
Date Submitted: April 12, 2023′
– Publishers Weekly/BookLife
Praise for Brixton Nights by Amy Tollyfield
(**OUT NOW**):
‘Tollyfield writes this elegant novella with intricate detail and grace … This perceptive and deeply human account of Chris’s emotional journey will keep readers engrossed’ – Publishers Weekly
‘[Tollyfield]’s prose is evocative and atmospheric … An authenticity and pathos that resonate. A meandering but often affecting tale of ties that bind—and leave deep marks’ – Kirkus Reviews
‘A powerful and enticing realist novella’ – LoveReading UK
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Links:
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Website header image: Fleur Pierets, 2023
‘Amy Tollyfield’ and the domain of ‘www.amytollyfield.com’ and its sub-pages refer to the author and poet of the same name. ‘www.brixtonnights.com’ and its sub-pages have been created to promote and celebrate Amy’s third book and first novella, Brixton Nights, which is **OUT NOW** and published by Olympia Publishers, London. Amy is unaffiliated with any third parties bar her publishers, http://www.olympiapublishers.com. Any third parties featured on this website and its sub-pages have been credited accordingly. If you would like to get in touch for any reason then please use the contact page on this website which may be reached using the following link: http://www.brixtonnights.com/contact. Thank you
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Brixton Nights 