Lots of tempting books to look out for in May before the summer reading bonanza begins when fewer books tend to snag my attention. I’ll begin with Benjamin Myers’ The Perfect Golden Circle, one I’m keen to read having enjoyed The Offing with its beautiful descriptive writing. Myers’ new novel is set in 1989 when two Falklands war veterans spend their summer marking out increasingly elaborate patterns in England’s crops as their friendship deepens. ‘Moving and exhilarating, tender and slyly witty, The Perfect Golden Circle is a captivating novel about the futility of war, the destruction of the English countryside, class inequality – and the power of beauty to heal trauma and fight power’ say the publishers promisingly. I remember those crop circles, the mystery of which has yet to be solved as far as I know.
Written by Daniel Birnbaum, the former director of Stockholm’s Museum of Modern Art, and based on the life of his grandfather, 
Dr B is about a German Jewish journalist forced to flee his Warsaw home in the face of Hitler’s inexorable rise. Living as a refugee in Stockholm, Immanuel continues to write and publish the likes of Thomas Mann and Stephan Zweig but finds himself caught up in the operations of British intelligence agents. Described by the publishers as a ‘dramatic and riveting novel of book publishing, emigres, spies, and diplomats in World War II Sweden’ this sounds both intriguing and unmissable.
I remember Emilie Pine’s memoir, Notes to Self, popping up on my Twitter timeline a few years back but didn’t get around to reading it. Ruth & Pen, her debut novel, looks very tempting. Set in Dublin in 2019, it’s about the eponymous women, neither of whom know each other, both of whom are questioning their lives. Ruth’s marriage is in crisis while teenage Pen is about to take a crucial step in a friendship. ‘Deeply involving, poignant and radiantly intelligent, it is a portrait of the limits of grief and love, of how we navigate our inner and outer landscapes, and the tender courage demanded by the simple, daily quest of living’ says the blurb. Definitely like the sound of that.
I read several novels which took swipes at social media last year, my favourite of which was John Boyne’s The 
Echo Chamber. Hanna Bervoets’ We Had to Remove This Post comes at the issue from a different angle as a content moderator reviews offensive material, from videos to rants, deciding which should be taken down. Life seems to be improving for Kayleigh who may even have found a new girlfriend at work but the job begins to have alarming effects. ‘We Had To Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets is a chilling, powerful and gripping story about what – or who – determines how we see the world’ says the blurb of a novel whose theme sounds relevant to us all.
Paddy Crewe’s My Name is Yip opens in 1815 in small town Georgia where Yip Tolroy is born one October night, the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. Friendless and mute, Yip is an outcast. In his fifteenth year when gold is discovered close to Heron’s Creek, he commits a heinous crime and flees along with Dud Carter. ‘As Yip and Dud’s odyssey takes them further into the unknown – via travelling shows, escaped slaves, and the greed of gold-hungry men – the pull of home only gets stronger’ say the publishers. I’ve enjoyed a couple of modern Westerns since reading Patrick deWitt’s wonderful The Sisters Brothers and rather like the sound of this one.
May’s short story collection is Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies all about Black women and girls enjoying a little time off from being good by the sound of it. ‘With their secret longings, new love, and forbidden affairs, these church ladies are as seductive as they want to be, as vulnerable as they need to be, as unfaithful and unrepentant as they care to be, and as free as they deserve to be’ say the publishers which sounds rather lovely.
That’s it for the first instalment of May’s fiction. A click on a title with take you to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more. Part two soon…
Thank you. I particularly like the sound of Dr.B.
You’re welcome. It sounds intriguing, doesn’t it.
My Name is Yip really appeals.
To me, too, although I won’t be expecting it to match The Sisters Brothers.
These all sound so tempting! I’ve not read Benjamin Myers but I really like the themes of The Perfect Golden Circle.
Hopes are high for the Myers. I think you’d enjoy his previous novel, The Offing.
I’m trying to resist the many tempting choices, as I’m currently inundated with unread books. But . . . Dr.. B sounds great (as for Myers, I still haven’t read my copy of The Offing, which I’d like to get to this summer).
Slightly off topic — I, too, liked DeWitt’s The Sisters Brothers! Did you see the movie? I must admit I found it disappointing.
Keen to read Doctor B, too. I saw the movie quite recently and quite enjoyed it although my expectations were pretty low. Nowhere near as good as the book, of course.
Fabulous selection which all sound intriguing in their own way. Dr B and My Name Is Yip have particularly caught my eye. I too enjoyed The Offing, and The Gallows Pole which won the Walter Scott Prize in 2018.
It’s a good month, although I seem to say that most months! I like the sound of both of those, particularly Dr B.
I’m looking forward to the Myers, which I hope to review for Shiny New Books. I also have proof copies of Ruth & Pen and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.
Excellent! I look out for your reviews.
A great selection of quite varied books there. Mr B sounds very intriguing and compelling. Though I think it’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies appeals to me most, and definitely has the best title.
Church Ladies does sound very appealing and, perhaps, even joyful which we could all do with right now.
Trying to resist the lure of new books right now but am so tempted by Dr B
That seems to be top of everyone’s list. It’ll be a while before it’s in paperback if that’s any comfort!
I’ve read The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, and it’s wonderful. It was published here in the States by a small press and just took off. I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you for this very informative post. A great mix! I’m very curious about the crop circles, Dr. B, and Yip.
That’s good to hear. It’s also published by a small press here so fingers crossed. And you’re welcome! More to come next week.
Dr B is the one that appeals most from these, though The Perfect Golden Circle sounds quite tempting too!
Dr B seems to be everyone’s favourite!
The Myers is the one that’s tempting me, it just sounds excellent.
It does, doesn’t it. I’m hoping it’ll match The Offing.
I loved The Offing, so The Perfect Golden Circle definitely appeals. A much anticipated book, I think.
Me, too,Jacqui. Hoping for the same lyrical descriptive writing with The Perfect Circle.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies has such a different cover over there!
The book about social media sounds most intriguing to me right now… Which surprises me a little bit. I think that because social media is SO huge, the effects of it fascinate me.
I must look that up! Social media wields way too much influence, doesn’t it, and so addictive.