Despite the many and varied delights on offer in April there’s absolutely no contest as to which of them sits at the top of my list. Jon McGregor’s Reservoir 13 has already met with a warm reception on social media and this time I’ve no doubt it’s justified. McGregor writes in lyrical, gorgeous prose – contemplative and beautiful. This new novel chronicles thirteen years following the disappearance of a teenage girl on holiday with her parents in the English countryside. One family has been devastated but village life goes on with all its small joys, sadnesses and mundane routines, always with a consciousness of what has happened. This sounds the perfect theme for McGregor whose quietly captivating If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things examined the events of a single day. Apologies for the gush but McGregor’s work is not to be missed. There’s even more gush if you can face it in my first Blast from the Past post which featured his So Man Ways to Begin, another lovely novel.
The theme of Donna Morrissey’s The Fortunate Brother sounds similar to Reservoir 13 in that it explores the aftermath of a tragedy in a small community, this time in Newfoundland. Suspicion falls on the Now family when a body is discovered in the local lake but as investigations progress it seems that there’s far more to the tragedy than meets the eye. ‘Compassionate and wise, beautiful and brutal, The Fortunate Brother is the story of a family and a community in turmoil and confirms Donna Morrissey’s place as one of Canada’s foremost storytellers’ say the publishers. I’m constantly being tempted by Canadian fiction not published in the UK by Naomi over at Consumed by Ink so I think I’ll snap this one up.
More dark secrets and revelations in Elanor Dymott’s Silver & Salt in which Ruthie’s father has 
recently died, prompting her return to his remote Greek villa from which she has been excluded for fifteen years. She and her elder sister settle into a sort of happiness, putting their dark childhoods behind them until the arrival of an English family and their daughter ’triggers a chain of events that will plunge both women back into the past, with shocking and fatal consequences. Devastating in its razor-sharp exploration of a tragic family legacy, Silver & Salt is the story of two sisters, bound by their history and driven to repeat it’ according to the publisher which sounds like perfect summer reading to me although a little premature.
Chequered family history seems to be something of a theme this April. Edward Docx’ Let Go My Hand explores secrets and lies through the lens of three sons and their father who has asked them to join him on a last journey through Europe. While Louis has his doubts about the idea, his two half-brothers are much more reluctant, unwilling to forgive their dying father his past transgressions. ‘Let Go My Hand is a darkly comic and deeply moving twenty-first-century love story between a son, his brothers and their father. Through these vividly realized characters, it asks elemental questions about how we love, how we live, and what really matters in the end’ according to the publisher. I’ve not had much luck with Docx’ fiction in the past but the idea of exploring the dark family secrets theme from a male point of view is an unusual one.
I have no such doubts about Delphine de Vigan’s Based on a True Story after reading No and Me last year. Identity theft seems to be the much darker theme of this one. The person doing the stealing is L., Delphine’s best friend with whom she has become enthralled. L. is the kind of beautifully turned out woman who seems to know what to do in every circumstance. Chillingly, she begins to dress like her new friend, offering to answer her emails, finding her way into every aspect of Delphine’s life until she takes control of it. It sounds quite riveting, and all the more so given that the author has given her protagonist both her name and her profession, not to mention that title.
I began this first batch of April titles with one about which I have no doubts whatsoever but I’m ending it with another that could backfire horribly. Paul Bassett Davies’ Dead Writers in Rehab sees Foster James waking up in a strange house, assuming he’s taken a step too far for his few remaining friends and is back in rehab again. Then Ernest Hemingway punches him in the face, he finds himself in a group therapy session with Hunter S. Thompson, Collette, William Burroughs and Coleridge, later encountering Dorothy Parker. What’s going on? ‘This is a love story. It’s for anyone who loves writing and writers. It’s also a story about the strange and terrible love affair between creativity and addiction, told by a charming, selfish bastard who finally confronts his demons in a place that’s part Priory, part Purgatory, and where the wildest fiction can tell the soberest truth’ says the publisher. Hmm… We’ll see. Great jacket, though.
That’s it for the first part of April’s preview. If you’d like to know more, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis. As seems to be so often the case, part two will have its feet firmly planted in the US.
I’m saving Reservoir 13 for my short holiday later this month. Can’t wait.
I’ve started it and it’s every bit as good as I’d hoped. Gorgeous writing.
A new Jon McGregor! One of my favourite writers, I’m very excited at the thought of Reservoir 13!
He’s a superb writer, isn’t he, and from what I’ve read so far this one more than lives up to expectations.
The Dead Writers in Rehab sounds irresistible!
Ha! It’s one of those that could go either way but it certainly deserves a look.
Although I’ve only ever read one McGregor (So Many Ways), I’m looking forward to his new one as well. Like you, I can’t decide if Dead Writers in Rehab sounds terrific or terrible; I think I’ll wait to see what the reviews are like.
Absolutely loved So Many Ways. His writing is sublime. I think that’s a wise idea with Dead Writers – I may well follow suit
I don’t think I’ll be able to resist Dead Writers in Rehab – it sounds so wacky, it could be great!
In that case I may well wait and see what you think of it, Marina!
Lots of justifiable love for Jon McGregor here, I still get shivers when I even think about if nobody speaks of remarkable things. There’s a scene with the man with the damaged hands brushing his daughter’s hair that never fails to move me. Such a wonderful writer. Dead Writers in Rehab sounds like it definitely needs a look. You’re right, it could be amazing or a failure, there’ll be no inbetween ground. Did you ever read My Elvis Blackout by Simon Crump? That’s a great example of a truly bizarre concept which works incredibly well. A lot of fun, but bonkers!
It does look like a case of from the sublime to the ridiculous! I’ve not come across My Elvis Blackout but I’ll keep an eye out for it. I have to be in the right mood for bonkers.
It’s good to see Donna Morrissey on your list! And I’m very happy to be a source of temptation. 🙂
Love the gushing about Jon McGregor!
So much gushing on social media that I hate to pour out more but he’s such a fabulous writer, and I’ve now finished Reservoir 13 which is quite possibly his best book so far. Always happy to be tempted!
A friend is a big fan of Jon McGregor, so I shall have to let her know there’s a new on on the way. Thanks for the tip, Susan.
I’m sure she’ll love it, Jacqui. I’ve finished reading it since writing this post and I think it’s his best yet.
Dead Writers in Rehab sounds….interesting!?! I might await your review before going any further than the blurb 😀
Definitely one to be treated with caution!
So how WAS Dead Writers in Rehab?! Considering it as a pickup shortly.
I haven’t got around to it, I’m afraid, but I have seen good reports on Twitter if that helps.