I’m starting the second part of August’s paperback preview with one that didn’t seem to get quite the coverage it deserved when it was first published, or maybe I missed it. Heather Marshall’s Looking for Jane begins with the chance discovery of a misdelivered letter which sets the woman who stumbled upon it on a quest to find the addressee. Marshall uses this trigger to explore the underground networks that existed in both Canada and the USA providing safe but illegal abortions before it was decriminalised, following three women, each of whom is connected to the others without knowing it. After several twists and turns, all three women’s narratives are satisfyingly drawn together. Such an immersive, moving story, told so well, and still relevant, sadly, given recent events.
I’m amazed to find that it’s eight years since I reviewed Per Petterson’s I Refuse concluding with what a fine writer he is. In Men in My Situation, a thirty-eight-year-old divorced father struggles with the grief that overwhelmed him a year ago when both his parents and two of his brothers were killed in a dreadful accident. ‘A tender portrait of grief, fatherhood and a life going to pieces, this is the major new novel from the author of bestselling Out Stealing Horses’ say the publishers. Petterson is particularly adept at depicting men paralysed by emotional turmoil.
Kwon Yeo-sun’s Lemon also deals with grief and trauma, telling the story of three women left haunted by the unsolved murder of a high school student in 2002. Seventeen years later, Kim Hae-on’s younger sister is determined to find out the truth behind her death. ‘Shifting between the perspectives of Da-on and two of Hae-on’s classmates, Lemon ostensibly takes the shape of a crime novel. But identifying the perpetrator is not the main objective here: Kwon Yeo-sun uses this well-worn form to craft a searing, timely exploration of privilege, jealousy, trauma, and how we live with the wrongs we have endured and inflicted in turn’ says the blurb promisingly. Such an eye-catching cover, too.
I’m rounding off August’s paperbacks with what I hope will be a short story treat from Penelope Lively. Metamorphosis includes two previously unpublished stories plus a selection of pieces ranging across her long career. ‘Wry, compassionate, and glittering with wit, Penelope Lively’s stories get beneath the everyday to the beating heart of human experience’ says the blurb. A description I’d happily use for her novels.
That’s it for the rather brief second part of August’s paperbacks. As ever, a click on a title will take you either to a more detailed synopsis or to my review should you want to know more, and if you’d like to catch up with part one it’s here. August’s new fiction is here and here.
Lemon appeals to me, and you’re right, it’s a gorgeus cover!
Isn’t it? Definitely makes you want to investigate the novel.
Lemon certainly interests me as does Men in My Situation though I suspect for the latter one would have to be in the right mind to read it.
Indeed you would. He’s a fine writer but his fiction is often quite bleak.
Looking forward to that Lively!
Oh, me too!
All these appeal to me Susan! I like all the covers too, especially Lemon. A highly tempting selection!
Delighted to hear that!
Looking forward to hearing more about that Penelope Lively collection. Are you planning to read it, Susan?
Definitely, Jacqui, although not for some time, I suspect.
Looking for Jane is certainly very timely, and very thought provoking because if it. Really like the sound of Lemon and I didn’t know Penelope Lively had a new collection of stories out.
I was sorry not to see more coverage of Looking for Jane. It’s such an important topic and the story is so well told. I think there are two new stories in the Penelope Lively collection although her writing’s so good, those alone would be worth the price of a paperback.
Looking for Jane is a definite read for me! Thank you.
Delighted to hear that!
Looking for Jane would make an interesting companion read to the book we had for our book club – The Red Clocks which imagines a future where abortion is illegal throughout the USA, travelling outside the country for an abortion is illegal and no single parent can have a child.
I read it before the Supreme Court announcement so it seemed very much an historical novel but it has a different resonance now. The Red Clocks sounds horribly prescient.
I hope that we’re not going to see an escalation of the restrictions – the laws already introduced into many of the US states are worrying enough
Me, too. I fear for desperate women and what they may resort to.