March means spring’s on the horizon in my part of the world with the worst over for another year. Lots to look forward to in the book world, too, beginning with Rebecca Wait’s debut I’m Sorry You Feel That Way which has kept its cover sporting last year’s favourite image of a woman face down or to the wall in apparent despair or weariness but I’m not going to let that put me off. It’s about Alice and Hanna, sisters brought up by a divisive mother and a largely absent father. Now grown up, they must deal with the usual disappointments and decide whether the damage done to their relationship as children is beyond repair. ‘A compelling domestic comedy about complex family dynamics, mental health and the intricacies of sibling relationships’ according to the publishers reminding me a little of Marie Aubert’s Grown Ups.
Claire Powell’s debut At the Table has also kept its face down image but I rather like this one with its woman with her head in
a cake seemingly in despair at her dysfunctional family. The apparently happily married Linda and Gerry announce their separation much to their children’s shock. Both in their 30s, Nicole and Jamie seem heading for their own disasters even before their parents’ announcement. ‘Claire Powell’s beautifully observed debut novel follows each member of the Maguire family over a tumultuous year of lunches, dinners and drinks, as old conflicts arise and relationships are re-evaluated. A gripping yet tender depiction of family dynamics, love and disillusionment, At the Table is about what it means to grow up – both as an individual, and as a family’ say the publishers which sounds unmissable to me.
It was its glorious cover that first caught my eye but the blurb for Andrew Lipstein’s debut, Last Resort, sounded right up my alley. It’s about a writer who comes to both realise his ambition and frustrate it when his first novel is picked up by an agent who scents a bestseller but there’s a hitch: Caleb is not the originator of the work. Lipstein manages the pace of his narrative brilliantly. A sharply observed novel whose overarching theme is the ownership of stories, it had me gripped from the start. A proper literary page-turner, and the ending is a masterstroke.
It’s the family connection that’s the lure for Edith and Kim by Charlotte Philby, the granddaughter of the eponymous Kim who was introduced to his Soviet handler by Edith Tudor-Hart, long since forgotten. Philby’s novel draws on both Tudor-Hart’s secret service files and a private archive of letters between her and the agent who became known as the Third Man. Philby’s novel was much praised by William Boyd on publication who described her as one of the ‘the heirs to John le Carré’. Sounds fascinating.
Set in Belfast in 1941, Lucy Caldwell’s These Days follows two sisters over four nights of the Belfast Blitz which pummelled the city for two months. One sister is engaged to be married, the other is in a secret relationship with a woman. ‘An unforgettable novel about lives lived under duress, about family, and about how we try to stay true to ourselves’ say the publishers. Caldwell’s novel was much praised when it was first published but it was Jacqui’s enthusiastic review which persuaded me to add this one to my list.
That’s it for March’s first instalment of paperbacks. A click on a title will take you either to my review or to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more, and if you’d like to catch up with new fiction it’s here and here. Part two soon…
Well. Every one of these seems worth a punt. Unfortunately. Will you please start to mention books I have no wish to read 😉 ?
Ha! I’ll try…
The cover of Last Resort is glorious! A nice selection, as always. What is it with the whole woman with face down cover image? So very bizarre (and kind of off putting, for me at least).
Never judge, as they say. But hard not to
It yells summer at me! Definitely last year’s cover motif of choice, and off-putting for me, too.
Yes, I’m not keen on the cover with a woman looking desperate and vanquished either… Last Resort sounds very similar in concept at least (about appropriating someone else’s work) to two other recent books Yellowface and The Plot. I mean, I like novels about writers – but how much do they appeal to ordinary readers?
So long since I’ve been one, I can’t answer that! It also reminds me a little of Antoine Wilson’s Mouth to Mouth. Keen to read The Plot.
Last Resort does sound good. The way things are going with me lately, I’ll soon become the woman with her face in the cake 🙂
Oh, no! Be sure to eat some of that cake first.
I need some hopefully a couple of weeks more should ease things. Ended up with too much (work not cake, sadly) on my plate as always!
I remember the cover of Last Resort from your previous mention of it – lovely! I’ll be quite happy to never see another face plant cover though…
Oops – by which I mean, in terms of book marketing, not your lovely blog Susan! Your posts always look gorgeous with all the different covers 🙂
Thank you and I couldn’t agree more! I’m hoping this year’s paperback editions will see that particular image off.
These all sound really good, especially Last Resort. I’ll look out for that one.
https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com/
I can certainly vouch for that one!
I’d like to read all of these! Love the top two covers though.
Definitely superior examples of the face down woman motif. The second one’s my favourite of the genre!
These all sound like great reads, love the cover of sorry you feel that way
Glad you like the look of them!
“Edith and Kim” is one that tickles my fancy.
That family connection is irresistible.
Oh bother, these all sound good. I was kind of hoping not to have such temptation coming my way so I can read more of what I already have.
Sorry! Well, not really…
I read The Lucy Caldwell in hardback, an excellent novel, that really lays bare the realities of the blitz on Belfast. I am very intruiged by the Philby book, I shall look out for that.
I’m pleased to have been alerted to the Caldwell. I missed it in hardback. Definitely keen to read the Philby.
Edith and Kim is the one that caught my eye. I enjoyed These Days and it’s on the longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023.
Particularly keen to read These Days after so many bloggers have sung it’s praises.
I’ve got Last Resort to read, I really must make time for it.
It’s quite a quick read, partly because it’s so pacy.
I really hope you enjoy Lucy Caldwell’s novel as much as I did, Susan. It’s on the list for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, so that’s another good sign!
Thank you, Jacqui. I’m sure I shall!