Just about enough paperbacks for a December post starting with a book I wasn’t entirely sure I’d read and ended up loving. I thought Meet Me at the Museum might be a little too sentimental for my cynical literary heart but Anne Youngson’s novella proved me wrong. It’s made up of letters between Tina, who is mourning her best friend, and, Anders, the Danish museum curator she contacts about an Iron Age man preserved in peat whose discovery captivated the two friends when they were schoolgirls. Tina and Anders’ characters are beautifully drawn. Each is enduring a quiet loneliness, each is dealing with grief yet there are unexpected joys to share. Rather than the schmaltzy piece of fiction I’d feared, it’s a quiet contemplation of the power of love and a reminder that change is possible at any stage of life.
Given that it’s billed as a thriller, I’d probably not have included Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing had it not been popping up on various blogs I’ve read for what feels like years. It’s set in a small, North Carolina coastal town in 1969 where the discovery of a man’s corpse sees a beautiful young woman, living alone out on the marshes, coming under suspicion. Described as ‘a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder’ by the publishers, it doesn’t sound entirely up my alley but I know I’ve read some excellent reviews of it. If only I could remember where, I might be able to explain what it was about the novel that snared my interest.
Nuruddin Farah’s North of Dawn sounds much more my kind of thing. A Somali couple have lived quietly for years in Oslo until their jihadi son’s widow arrives from Somalia with her two children. ‘A nuanced quietly devastating family soap opera’ according to the New York Times which sounds just the ticket for this time of the year.
I’m rounding off this tiny handful of paperbacks with Lynne Sharon Schwartz’s Crossing Borders. The title alone would have been enough for me to take notice but apparently, it’s a collection of essays and short stories about translation from a wide range of authors including Primo Levi, Joyce Carol Oates and Lydia Davis. Sounds excellent.
A click on a title will take you to my review for Meet Me at the Museum and to a longer synopsis for the others. If you’d like to catch up with December’s new novels they’re here. Next stop January. Hard to believe we’re almost at the end of another year…
Thank you. These books to look out for are such helpful posts!
I’m so glad to hear that!
You’ve managed to make me curious about each one of the above – a rare feat indeed!
Thank you! Delighted to hear that.
I enjoyed Meet Me at the Museum as well and had the pleasure of hearing Anne talk about her book at Henley Literary Festival in 2018, and have her sign my copy. I agree it’s not schmaltzy at all. In fact, if anything, I found myself hoping for a different ending!
Ah, I see what you mean! I think it had a rather schmaltzy-sounding blurb which put me off but it’s lovely, isn’t it.
I felt the same about Meet Me at the Museum: the marketing was a little too ‘women’s fiction’ for me, but I found it very touching.
Crawdads is very good. I reviewed it for BookBrowse late last year. The dual timeline does create suspense, but it’s more remarkable for the main character and the setting — the author was previously a nature writer. If you have a good track record with Oprah book club books then you should get on with this one (a Reese Witherspoon book club selection) too.
I like the sound of a collection about translation. Thanks for alerting me to it!
Such a shame to aim a book so squarely at a market at the cost of missing other readers. Thanks for the Crawdads reassurance!
Going to add Meet Me at the Museum:to my tbr list.
It’s a lovely read, Helen. Beautifully done.
Meet me at the Museum sounds good, I’m looking out for good potential bookish Christmas presents at the moment.
It’s a lovely book, Ali. Quietly poignant but also cheering. Highly recommend it.
These all sound so good! The first two wouldn’t usually appeal but you’ve convinced me, as you always do Susan 🙂
Well, that’s lovely to hear. Thank you. I can certainly vouch for Meet Me at the Museum.
I came across Crawdads while browsing and couldn’t quite commit – I think it was the coming-of-age aspect that made me hesitate rather than the thriller-ness. Maybe I’ll give it another look.
I’ll keep my eye on your blog in case you decide to review it, Kate.
A former colleague read Meet Me at the Museum when it came out it hardback and was very impressed. As you say, it seems to be more ‘literary’ than the initial marketing suggests – a point that we may need to bear in mind for the paperback release.
I think you could confidently recommend it both to fans of literary fiction and to readers who tend towards the more commerical, Jacqui.
Meet Me at the Museum was one of my favorite books this year.
I’m so pleased I ignored the blurb.
I read Nuruddin Farah’s first published work – From a Broken Rib. An interesting topic but the writing wasn’t great.
Oh, that’s interesting. One to put on the back burner, then.
I wouldn’t rush to read this one