Shanghailanders by Juli Min
Juli Min’s ambitious debut novel, Shanghailanders, is a thrilling, futuristic family drama that captures the joys, disappointments, and inside jokes of one Shanghai family in reverse chronological order. Starting in 2040 and working its way back to 2014, the book unspools the shared and separate lives of the wealthy Yangs: Chinese real estate investor Leo, his elegant Japanese French wife Eko, their precocious eldest daughters Yumi and Yoko, and the baby of the family, aspiring actress Kiko. By giving readers the gift of hindsight, Min shows how one enigmatic family falls apart and comes back together over several decades.
Long Island by Colm Tóibín
Best-selling Irish author Colm Tóibín returns with Long Island, a well-observed sequel to his much loved 2009 novel Brooklyn, set 20 years after Eilis, the inscrutable heroine of the aforementioned book, emigrated from Ireland. Picking up in the spring of 1976, Eilis, now in her 40s, is still married to Italian American plumber Tony Fiorello and living in the titular suburbs outside of New York City with their two teenage children and her in-laws. All is well, if a little boring, until she is confronted by an irate Irishman who claims Tony has gotten his wife pregnant and he plans to leave the baby on Eilis’ doorstep once it’s born.
Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru
Hari Kunzru’s seventh novel, Blue Ruin, is a provocative portrait of a once-promising artist as a disillusioned man of a certain age. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Jay, a 40-something undocumented performance artist, is living out of his car and delivering groceries to wealthy residents in upstate New York. On one of his runs, he finds himself face-to-face with Alice, a woman he dated nearly two decades earlier. Alice invites him to ride out the crisis in the luxurious home where she is quarantining with her painter husband, the art school rival for whom she ghosted Jay. The unexpected run-in leads to a possible big career break for Jay, who worries the deal may just cost him his soul.
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
This Strange Eventful History is a sprawling yet intimate saga that draws inspiration from author Claire Messud’s own family history. Spanning several decades, from 1940 to 2010, Messud follows the Cassar family, a fictional French Algerian clan first displaced by World War II, and again, nearly 20 years later, by Algeria’s war of independence. With great empathy, Messud shows the effects war, colonialism, and later sovereignty had on three generations of the Cassars, most notably, the family’s youngest member, aspiring writer Chloe, a stand-in for Messud, who believes the truth will finally set her relatives free.
Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan
From Kevin Kwan, the author of Crazy Rich Asians, a high comedy sure to delight fans of Jane Austen. Rufus Leung Gresham, the protagonist of Lies and Weddings, is the future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel. He’s also been buried underneath a mountain of debt thanks to his family’s reckless spending. To dig himself out, Rufus’ always scheming mother suggests he find a wealthy woman to marry at his sister’s upcoming high-society wedding.
Accordion Eulogies by Noé Álvarez
Growing up, Noé Álvarez’s working class Mexican immigrant parents rarely spoke of his larger-than-life grandfather. All Álvarez ever knew of the relative who was more myth than man was that he played the accordion and possibly put a curse on his descendants with his questionable behaviour. In his poignant new memoir, Accordion Eulogies, Álvarez traces the history of the humble titular instrument in hopes of better understanding his own family’s mysterious lineage. With empathy and humour, the author dares to find the root cause of his generational trauma with the hope of finally breaking the cycle.
All Fours by Miranda July
This is a cinematic, expansive novel about one woman’s quest for freedom. All Fours by Miranda July is a daring and thought-provoking story that blur the lines between reality and surrealism. With her signature blend of wit and whimsy, July explores the quirks and anxieties of modern life and the need to just escape. Our protagonist leaves her family behind and spontaneously stays at a random motel, fed up with her monotone domestic life. July’s prose is both playful and profound, a delightful and disquieting journey into the absurdity of existence.
Monstrum by Lottie Mills
Lottie Mills has already made waves as winner of the BBC Young Writers’ Award and this collection of stories are as magical as they are provocative. This book would hugely appeal to Black Mirror fans, each story asks the reader to reflect on what they would do in a set of circumstances where characters are excluded by society based on their differences.
Breaststrokes by Margaux Vialleron
Breaststrokes dives deep into consent, womanhood, vulnerability, and the intricacies of our hidden selves. Through candid storytelling in five acts over the course of one weekend, four women are brought together, From the highs of triumphing over adversity to the lows of confronting societal prejudices, this is thought provoking and relatable, written in lyrical prose.
Table For Two by Amor Towles
A captivating collection of six short stories based in New York and a novella in the golden age of Hollywood that showcase Towles’ storytelling prowess and literary finesse. With each tale, Towles invites readers into intricately crafted worlds where characters grapple with love, loss, and the complexities of human connection.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions with Coco Mellors’ electrifying new release, Blue Sisters. Having exploded in popularity following the huge success of her beloved debut, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, Mellors once again proves her knack for creating authentic characters. In Blue Sisters, she thrusts readers into a whirlwind of sisterhood, grief, addiction, and desire. We follow the journey of three captivating and individual sisters, each going through their own challenges and brought together to somehow process the unexpected loss of Avery, their fourth sister.
You Like It Darker by Stephen King
Stephen King is back with a collection of twelve short stories which delve into the abyss of human fear and darkness with the mastery that has made King a household name in horror literature. King demonstrates once again why he reigns supreme in the realm of suspense and terror, though he also adds questions of fate, mortality, and luck in these stories.
The Two Loves of Sophie Strom by Sam Taylor
Two Loves of Sophie Strom by Sam Taylor intricately weaves together the complexities of love, identity, and acceptance in the face of indoctrination and tragedy. Sophie, torn between two worlds and two loves, navigates a path fraught with emotional turmoil and self-discovery. Taylor’s prose is both lyrical and profound, delving into the depths of human connection and the struggles of belonging. Through Sophie’s journey, the novel explores themes of cultural clash, societal expectations, and the universal quest for understanding and fulfilment.
Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli
Nwabineli’s contemporary perspective offers a fresh lens through which to examine the complexities of modern life, challenging conventional notions and sparking new conversations. She navigates topics ranging from race to gender, with a novel that looks at the dark side of social media and the exploitative nature of online fame.
A Person is a Prayer by Ammar Kalia
A Person is a Prayer a breathtaking and expansive debut novel about one family’s migration from Kenya and India to England. Through Ammar’s exquisite verse, readers are invited into a journey that begins with an arranged marriage and is told over three separate days across six decades. Ammar skilfully weaves together themes of love, loss, identity, and resilience with an uplifting humour throughout.
