The second part of August’s preview begins with a sure fire winner for me: Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island which I read as soon as I could get my hands on a copy. Unfolding in short, snapshot chapters, it follows four generations of women in one unconventional household, all devoted to each other in their own particular ways. Left to bring up her daughter alone, Eileen Aylward becomes so close to her mother-in-law that Nana moves in with her and Saoirse when one son marries and the other lands in prison. The Queen of Dirt Island shares the same setting as Strange Flowers characters from which become bound closely into the Aylwards’ story. I loved it. Review to follow…
I remember reading Barney Norris’ Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain set in Salisbury, not far from my own hometown, and
enjoying his descriptive writing. I’m hoping for more of the same with Undercurrent which follows Ed who saved Amy from drowning years ago. Now in his thirties, his life seems to have ground to a halt when he meets Amy again and wonders whether she might offer the chance of happiness, reminding me a little of Angela Jackson’s The Darlings. ‘Filled with hope and characteristic warmth, Undercurrent is a moving and intimate portrait of love, of life and why we choose to share ours with the people we do’ say the publishers.
Diana Reid’s Love and Virtue sees two women form an unlikely friendship during their first year at university. Michaela and Eve live in adjacent rooms at their hall of residence – one confident and outgoing, the other unsure of herself and others’ opinion of her. One night a drunken encounter leads to questions about memory and consent straining the bond between these two sharp, intelligent women. ‘Written with a strikingly contemporary voice that is both wickedly clever and incisive, issues of consent, class and institutional privilege, and feminism become provocations for enduring philosophical questions we face today’ says the blurb promisingly. 
I waited patiently for C. E. Riley’s Is This Love? to pop up on NetGalley having spotted it on Twitter, attracted by its premise. Narrated by J, whose gender we never know, it’s addressed to their wife who has left them, accusing them of awful things they say they’ve not committed. Interspersed with J’s narrative are the diaries of their wife. ‘As the story unfolds, and each character’s version of events undermines the other, all our assumptions about victimhood, agency, love and control are challenged – for we never know J’s gender. If we did, would it change our minds about who was telling the truth?’ asks the blurb. Review soon…
I’m a little doubtful about Heidi Sopinka’s Utopia, partly because there seem to be pronounced Rebecca echoes running through it but its art theme has swung it for me. Gifted artist Romy dies in suspicious circumstances, soon replaced by her husband with another young aspiring artist. Paz finds the house still dominated by Romy’s presence, becoming obsessed and unnerved as unexplained incidents occur. Then a postcard in Romy’s handwriting turns up. ‘At once an exquisite exploration of creativity and an atmospheric page-turner, Utopia is a book that takes hold of you and will leave you altered’. We’ll see
No such doubts about oncologist Austin Duffy’s The Night Interns which I snapped up as soon as I spotted it, having enjoyed both This Living and Immortal Thing and Ten Days. His new one takes us back into his workplace as three young surgical interns working the night shift do their best to cope with whatever is thrown at them. Intense pressure, sleep deprivation and confusing hospital hierarchies only serve to make life harder. ‘By turns moving, shocking, and darkly funny, The Night Interns fizzes with nervous energy, forensic insight and moral tension, as it evokes life and death on the frontline’ say the publishers. Review soon…
That’s it for part two of August’s new fiction. As ever, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more, and if you’d like to catch up with part one it’s here. Paperbacks soon…
The Donal Ryan is a must-read for sure. Looking forward to it. I got a sent a copy of Utopia, and really like the idea of the Rebecca echoes – and art – of course. We’ll see…
You won’t be disappointed by the Ryan! I’ll look out for your review of Utopia.
No surprise that it’s The Night Interns that caught my eye…
I thought you when I was reading it!
The Night Interns sounds interesting as does Utopia even if only to see how Rebecca-like it turns out.
I can definitely recommend The Night Interns and Annabel may be reviewing Utopia so I’ll be looking out for that.
I hadn’t heard of any of those, although Donal Ryan has been on my radar for ages. They all sound really interesting though.
It’s quite a varied bunch this month although my favourite of this lot is definitely the Ryan.
These all sound good, especially Utopia and The Queen of Dirt Island. It sounds like you liked the Night Interns.
I did, and loved The Queen of Dirt Island. I’ll be looking out for reviews of Utopia for I buy a copy, I think.
Understood and good point regarding Utopia.
Lots of these sound intriguing, Susan, so I shall await your reviews. I think I’m a bit of a Donal Ryan agnostic so far, although I’ve only read his first, The Spinning Heart. We had an interesting discussion about it at book group though – a very cleverly constructed book!
Oddly enough, I felt The Spinning Heart was overrated but have since become a convert. I do remember there was a huge amount of hype surrounding it which may have raised my expectations too high.
Donal Ryan is definitely one of my top contemporary authors, so I’ve very excited about The Queen of Dirt Island. Really looking forward to your review!
It’s quite a step for a male writer to portray a female household but Ryan does it so well. I’m sure you’ll love it.