Publishing schedules are beginning to look much more tempting now that the worst of the pandemic-related slippage has worked its way through, at least let’s hope so. I like to kick off proceedings with a title that made my heart sing when I spotted it and this time it’s Sarah Moss’ Summerwater. From Names for the Sea, her memoir of a year spent in Iceland, to the wonderful Ghost Wall, her last novel, everything I’ve read by Moss has impressed me. Hopes are high, then for this new one. Set in the Scottish Highlands over a single rainy day, the longest of the summer, Summerwater sees a dozen people cooped up in a rundown cabin park, watching what the other residents get up to and quick to judge what they see. ‘Tensions rise and all watch on, unaware of the tragedy that lies ahead as night finally falls’ says the blurb promisingly.
Carys Davies’ West is one of those debuts which actually lived up to the often used ‘stunning’ label, whetting my appetite for The Mission House. Set in Ooty, a South Indian hill station, against a backdrop of rising religious tension it follows Hilary who is taken under the wing of the local priest and his adopted daughter who forms a friendship with the incomer. ‘The Mission House boldly and imaginatively explores post-colonial ideas in a world fractured between faith and non-belief, young and old, imperial past and nationalistic present. Tenderly subversive and meticulously crafted, it is a deeply human fable of the wonders and terrors of connection in a modern world’ say the publishers which sounds very enticing to me.
I reviewed Xiaolu Guo’s I Am China in the early days of this blog, describing it as a love story in fragments which could also be applied to her new novel, A Lover’s Discourse, by the sound of
it. A Chinese woman comes to London, hoping her relationship will ease her loneliness in this country so different from her own. Her new life is explored through snatches of conversation between the woman and her lover in a multitude of different settings. ‘Suffused with a wonderful sense of humour, this intimate and tender novel asks universal questions: what is the meaning of home when we’ve been uprooted? How can a man and woman be together? And how best to find solid ground in a world of uncertainty?’ according to the blurb. Very much like the sound of that.
Anna Krien’s, Act of Grace, sounds very ambitious with its intertwining of four characters’ lives at least three of whom are living in the shadow of the Iraq War. ‘Crossing the frontiers of war, protest and cultural reconciliation, Act of Grace is a meditation on inheritance: the damage that one generation bestows upon the next, and the potential for transformation. It is a searing, powerful and utterly original work by an exceptional Australian writer’ say the publishers. Krien’s novel was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award which bodes well.
Anna Bruno’s debut, Ordinary Hazards, sees a successful woman steadily drinking herself into oblivion in the bar where she met her ex-partner a few years ago on a blind date. Nine months after their divorce, she’s trying to understand how her life has taken such a turn. Her story emerges over the course of the evening until, apparently, she’s forced to face her past. The blurb temptingly sets us up for an evening ending in ‘shocking results’.
Emily St John Mandel’s dystopian Station Eleven was one of those titles impossible to avoid in my 
neck of the Twitter woods when it was published back in 2014 but I wasn’t a fan so you might wonder why I’m including The Glass Hotel here but I like the sound of both its settings and themes. The wealthy owner of the Hotel Caiette and its bartender begin a relationship on the same day as a hooded figure is seen scrawling a violent message on the hotel’s wall. Thirteen years later the erstwhile bartender disappears from the deck of a ship. ‘Weaving together the lives of these characters, Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel moves between the ship, the towers of Manhattan, and the wilderness of remote British Columbia, painting a breathtaking picture of greed and guilt, fantasy and delusion, art and the ghosts of our pasts’ according to the publishers which sounds like an altogether different kind of dystopia.
That’s it for the first part of August’s new fiction preview. As ever, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more. Second instalment soon…
I’m doing all I can to resist new books at the moment – I’ve bought lots during lockdown and read very little 🙁 although the Moss is tempting.
And it is very short… Good luck with resisting temptation!
Summerwater is on the way to me to review for Shiny New Books — I can’t wait!
I’m planning to read it this week. Trying, and failing, to reel back my sky high expectations just in case!
I already have a copy of Summerwater and it’s on my reading list for August. I wondered about the West when it was first announced and I’m still wondering; I think I’ll wait and see what the reviews say. We differed over Station Eleven, which I absolutely loved, so The Glass Hotel is definitely on my list. August looks good, doesn’t it?
Planning to get to Summerwater this week. I’m reieved to have a hard copy after confirming that I don’t enjoy ebooks nearly so much as print during the restrictions.
It certainly does. I’m so pleased to see it!
Can’t wait for the Mandel – I pre-ordered it in January! But I’m attracted to the Guo, Moss and Davies too.
Close to a full house for you, then, Annabel! I’ll wait to see what you think of the Mandel.
For once, I actually have a couple of these in my TBR – a proof of Summerwater and a copy of The Mission House, both of which sound excellent. It’s good to see some interesting new fiction coming through in the pipeline, particularly after the various postponements in spring.
I have both of those to look forward to, too. I’ve felt sorry for both authors and publicists trying to cope with the constant schedule changes but things do seem back on a more even keel now.
What a fascinating selection, The Glass Hotel sounds really good, but it is Summerwater that especially appeals. I’ve only read Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss though I have been very tempted by Ghost Wall too.
I’ve been won over by that Mandel blurb. Ghost Wall is excellent, a slim novella whihc packs a hefty punch.
I’m trying to avoid temptation at the minute but am very keen to read Summerwater.
It would be an elegantly slim, exception, Cathy.
I’d be happy to have any of these in my stack currently. Well, the Mandel is already there, but I’m not unhappy about that either. Earlier this year I reread and read through her backlist and what I most enjoy is how the characters interweave and connect and how themes echo and resurface. I feel like a lot of readers were distracted by the one real-life aspect to TGH, the person who –she openly explains in the afterword–inspired that particular plot line, whereas your description is apt and gives a sense of just how much is going on in this story (and in her novels overall).
That’s very encouraging! I’ll definitely give it a try. Thanks.
How can I resist Sarah Moss? I am also tempted by the Mandel, although I wasn’t 100% happy with Station Eleven. But I think everything she touches is interesting.
Certainly not me! Sadly, Station Eleven didn’t work for me at all but this new one sounds much more up my street.
What a great-looking list. Summerwater sounds excellent. I’m also intrigued by Ordinary Hazards. And I already own The Glass castle – just haven’t read it yet!
It’s so great that publishing is getting back to normal even if life isn’t entirely!
It really is! 🙂
Two of your choices also cropped up in my list of books I’m looking forward to seeing in the next few months: Carys Davies and Mandel . I saw Ghost Wall mentioned “everywhere” a while ago but it didn’t call to me….
I’ll be reviewing the Davies in a few weeks. So far, it’s very different from West but still excellent, and I can vouch for Ghost Wall although you don’t sound persuadable on that one!
I have so many other books that are calling to me more than the Moss
Too much temptation in this post! I shall limit myself to just one – Summerwater, which sounds great. It’ll be my first experience of Moss… 🙂
That’s what I like to hear! I hope you’ll become a Moss fan. I’ve a feeling you might like Ghost Wall.
This is a really interesting list of books. I think The Mission House and Glass Water intrigue me the most though.
Pleased to hear that you found something you like the look of.
Summerwater is smashing – it’s not Ghost Wall, but it’s still of such extraordinarily high quality. A real treat.
That’s reassuring, Elle. It’s next on my pile.
Looking forward to Summerwater, especially after reading comments here. I loved Ghost Wall.
Oh, me, too. I’ll be starting Summerwater tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
I imagine I’ll get to Summerwater. I enjoyed the Iceland memoir though I often found her to be a bit much. It was fascinating to see what it was like there.
Thank you so much for this.
You’re very welcome. Second paperback instalment up tomorrow…