Off to Spain but still in the land of relationships, Gonzalo Torné’s Divorce is in the Air sees Joan-Marc telling his estranged second wife all about his past, beginning with the breakdown of his first marriage and the holiday that was meant to save it. As the story of his life unfolds in a series of flashbacks we learn of his first sexual encounter, his father’s suicide and his mother’s breakdown. Described by the publisher as ‘an unapologetic exploration of memory, nostalgia, romance, the ways in which the past takes hold – a powerful portrait of a man struggling with his illusions about life and love’ this is the first novel by Torné to be translated in to English and sounds very promising.
Helen Sedgwick’s The Comet Seekers takes us to Antarctica where Róisín and François meet for the first time. Róisín is from an Irish hamlet, passionate about science. François was raised by his beautiful young mother, unable to turn her back on her past. Their stories unfold separately, joining only when a comet is visible in the sky. ‘Theirs are stories filled with love and hope and heartbreak, that show how strangers can be connected and ghosts can be real, and the world can be as lonely or as beautiful as the comets themselves’ say the publishers in a somewhat overblown blurb. There’s a great deal of pre-publicity hoo-ha about this one which doesn’t always bode well but both the setting and the parallel story idea appeal.
That’s it for August’s new novels. As ever, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis, and if you’d like to catch up with part one here it is. Paperbacks soon…
Why do I feel that all the new books being published (at least the ones mentioned by you) are aimed at me specifically? There’s no way I can keep up with them all!
Me neither, but it’s fun trying!
Divorce is in the Air sounds interesting.
The Golden Age was one of my favourite books last year – you’re in for a treat.
Oh, excellent! Thanks, Kate.
Damn… cant say I’d easily turn the other way from any of these! *orders more bookshelves & sells a kidney*
Pretty tempting bunch isn’t it! Sorry, Poppy…
The Comet Seekers appeals to me – I hope it lives up to the hoo-ha!
All that hoo-ha brings out the old cynic in me but you never know, it might be wonderful!
The cover of The Comet Seekers appeals to me, not that we’re supposed to judge books so superficially, but…well it looks sweet!
Oh, I think the cover’s an important part of the book. It’s often what makes us pick it up in the first place, but that’s the old bookseller in me talking!
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