October’s a little light on eye-catching titles for me although for the second year running we’re being treated to a new Elizabeth Strout featuring Lucy Barton which came as a surprise. Lucy by the Sea sees her leaving New York City for lockdown life in Maine with the ex-husband she was reunited with in last year’s Oh William!. ‘Strout’s new novel is a miraculous work of fiction. A brilliantly sharp evocation of the period we have just lived through, it is a novel that both resonates deeply and consoles us too’ say the publishers promisingly. With many other writers, I’d have wondered if Lucy was being wheeled out one too many times but if anyone can carry it off, it’s Ms Strout. Review shortly…
Tade Thompson’s Jackdaw sounds fascinating. A psychiatrist commissioned to write a short piece on the artist Francis Bacon becomes obsessed with his subject to the extent that he begins to loose his grip on reality. ‘This short, bold piece of fiction, explores how the passion needed to create art can also destroy the artist’ say the publishers of a novel which sounds both unusual and intriguing.
In Daniele Mencarelli’s Everything Calls for Salvation, twenty-year-old Daniele wakes up in hospital after suffering a violent breakdown the night before, faced with a week of mandatory treatment on a psychiatric ward. What sounds like an affecting piece of autofiction charts a week in which Daniele finds common ground with his fellow patients, men much like himself. ‘By focusing on some of the most marginalized people in our society, Mencarelli has written a heart-breaking and unforgettable novel that challenges our notion of normality and celebrates the salvific power of solidarity and vulnerability’ say the publishers.
Vigdis Hjorth’s Is Mother Dead sees a recently widowed woman return to Oslo for a retrospective of her work the subject of
which is motherhood. Johanna’s already strained relationship with her mother has been made all the more difficult by her more controversial paintings. She finds herself unable to get her estranged mother out of her thoughts then lurking outside her house when her mother refuses to reply to any attempt at contact. I’ve yet to read anything by Hjorth but this sounds excellent.
I’ve come across the idea of kintsugi in several novels over the past few years, most notably in Andrés Neuman’s Fracture. It’s the Japanese custom of celebrating a ceramic artefact’s history by repairing its cracks with liquid gold. Senka Marić’s Body Kintsugi applies it to the story of a woman who discovers a cancerous tumour shortly after her husband leaves her, exploring both her past and her present. Described by the publishers as ‘an intimate, insightful account of the difficulties of adolescence, ongoing patriarchal attitudes in Bosnian society, motherhood, illness and the relationship of a woman to her body, as it changes into something new – and yet, is still hers’ it sounds unmissable.
I couldn’t get on with George Saunders’ Man Booker Prize-winning Lincoln in the Bardo but made a mental note to try his short stories which were much lauded in the novel’s publicity material. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t get around to it until Liberation Day popped through my letterbox. Written with a pleasing economy of expression, Saunders’ collection explores themes of wealth, poverty and exploitation in stories that are sometimes surreal and often very funny although their message is always sober. An excellent collection which left me keen to explore more of Saunders’ short fiction. Review to come…
That’s it for October’s new fiction. As ever, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more. Paperbacks soon…
Slightly to my surprise, I loved Lincoln in the Bardo, so I’ll look out for this new collection. And indeed every book you mention seems worth a look. Maybe October won’t be so thin after all.
Quality rather than quantity: always the best way. I’m wondering if I should give Lincoln another try given how much I enjoyed Saunders’ stories.
Why not? I think you have to have time to get into it properly maybe, before abandoning.
So pleased to see a new Elizabeth Strout! Thank you.
I was astonished when I spotted it, and it’s very good, too.
Hurray – a new Elizabeth Strout!
I know! We’re being spoilt.
I think I might be safe this month… although the Body Kintsugi one sounds interesting, given my accident-prone August, I might wait for a bit before reading it.
Sounds like a wise plan. Hope this month sees you recovered.
I’m sure the new Strout will be a big hit as the series has been so popular with readers…
It sounds as if you need to read Oh William before Lucy by the Sea to follow the right timeline. How about the first book and the sequel, My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible? Where do they fit in Lucy’s timeline / character development?
My Name… introduces Lucy although Strout is so clever at subtly sketching in backstories (a useful reminder for those of us with fading memories) that they can be enjoyed even if read out of order.
I’ve just discovered Lucy Barton, so I’ll work my way through – this sounds good though, I like the idea of lockdown through Lucy’s eyes!
You’ve several treats in store, then! Lucy discovers some unexpected things about herself in lockdown as does William.
I like the sound of Jackdaw and Everything Calls for Salvation. Heard much about Storout but still to explore this series
Jackdaw sounds particularly intriguing.
Is Mother Dead is very tempting although I don’t know the author at all. The premise sounds excellent! I also couldn’t get on with Lincoln in the Bardo but I might give Saunders another go…
It’s that old art theme I can’t resist with Is Mother Dead. Saunders’ stories are very much more accessible that Lincoln although I may try again with that.
Looking forward to your review of Dead Mother!
It sounds good, doesn’t it.
Another new Lucy Barton? I really enjoyed Oh William! but this feels very quick on its heels. Jackdaw is a must for me.
I’d say Lucy by the Sea is better than Oh William! Jackdaw looks interesting, doesn’t it
I’ve read one of the Strout books. Enjoyed it but not enough to feel I wanted to read more
Ah, well. Can’t win ’em all.
Absolutely true.
More by Saunders and Strout is always welcome (even though I am woefully behind with them both)!
Is Mother Dead sounds intriguing…
Liberation Day was a revelation after my struggles with Lincoln in the Bardo. Very much like the look and sound of Is Mother Dead.
I have read one by Vigdis Hjorth – Will and Testament which was very good so I am looking forward to Is Mother Dead.
Oh, that’s encouraging. I’ve yet to read anything by her but will look out for Will and Testament.
Not sure how I missed that there was a new Strout!
It certainly took me by surprise.
I’m just finishing reading Lucy by the Sea…
Hope you’re enjoying it!
Lucy by the Sea sounds great. I must get back to Elizabeth Strout, I have several of her novels tbr. I am trying to remember the book I read by Vigdis Hjorth, Will and Testament it might have been called. I liked it but it did leave me rather cold.
Ah, another reader mentioned Will and Testament, too. Lucy by the Sea is an absolute treat!