The second batch of March’s paperbacks kicks off with one that demands a bit of concentration. Jennifer Egan’s The Candy House explores the fallout from a technology that captures our very consciousness through a series of narratives connected by characters all linked to Bix Boulton, the software’s creator. No brief synopsis comes close to encapsulating this ambitious novel with its differing narrative styles that jump from character to character, pulling the threads of connection together, sometimes more obliquely than others. Although I wouldn’t call it a sequel, ardent fans of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad might want to refresh their memories given that several of its main protagonists and their children make an appearance. 
Keiran Goddard’s Hourglass is a love story, although not a conventional one according to the blurb which is more than a little opaque. Goddard’s novel follows a couple from love’s beginnings through its gradual flowering to its precipitate end. ‘Exquisitely crafted, wildly imaginative and as darkly funny as it is moving, Hourglass is a revolutionary love story. It turns time upside down, combs the intimate wreckage of heartbreak for something universal, and asks what it means to lose what you love’ says the publishers. Definitely sounds worth a try.
More straightforwardly, Ben Hinshaw’s Exactly What You Mean sounds as if it has a foot in coming-of-age territory as a teenager stumbles on a secret which has the power to destroy adult lives. ‘In this extraordinary debut, a cast of characters grapple with unexpected betrayal, the loss of innocence and the lies we tell. With sharp insight, Ben Hinshaw illuminates the unnerving nature of what it means to grow up, to be a teenager playing at adulthood and an adult playing games’ say the publishers. Very much like the sound of that.
Danny Denton’s road novel, All Along the Echo, sees a talk show host and his producer driving across Ireland in a Mazda
which will be won by one lucky listener who must be a returning emigrant fleeing the spate of terror attacks which has recently struck London. What begins as a competition sponsored by a Cork car dealership turns into a personal quest for both Tony and Louise, each of them struggling with their own problems. ‘Funny, warm and in the wilding spirit of George Saunders or Samuel Beckett, Danny Denton’s novel is a bravura capturing of modern Ireland’ promises the blog.
Regular readers won’t be surprised to hear that it was the art theme that first drew me to Charlotte Mendelson’s The Exhibitionist but it’s a background note to the overriding one of dysfunctional families, another favourite, and they don’t come much more dysfunctional than the Hanrahans. Mendelson’s novel follows the family over a weekend when all are gathered to celebrate Ray’s first show for quite some time, each of them preparing themselves for the onslaught of his colossal ego and its demands. Thoroughly deserving of its Women’s Prize for Fiction longlisting, it’s an entertaining novel which deals with serious issues and it ends on a note of hope that made me want to cheer.
I still haven’t caught up with Anne Tyler’s last novel but that hasn’t stopped me casting my eye at French Braid which spans
seven decades in the lives of the Garrett family, from the ‘50s to the present day. Robin and Mercy have three children whose care is left to their mother who longs to become a painter. As the years wear on, these five will continue to have an influence on each other’s lives in the way that family members do despite the best efforts of some to get away. ‘Full of heartbreak and hilarity, French Braid is classic Anne Tyler: a stirring, uncannily insightful novel bursting with warmth and humour that illuminates the kindnesses and cruelties of our daily lives, the impossibility of breaking free from those who love us, and how close – yet how unknowable – every family is to itself’ say the publishers. No surprises there, then, but a reliably good read for Tyler fans by the sound of it.
That’s it for March. A click on a title will take you to either to my review or to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more. If you’d like to catch up with part one, it’s here, new fiction is here and here.
All very striking covers!
Aren’t they? The one for The Candy House is much better than the hardback edition as is All Along the Echo.
I often think that with proofs!
Of these, only the Jennifer Egan doesn’t appeal. I’ve bookmarked the rest, and the Danny Denton looks particularly appetising.
I enjoyed the Egan but it’s not one that would appeal to everyone. Hope you enjoy the Denton.
I’ve got to find it first!
Good luck!
French Braid is the best from in quite a while. I also enjoyed the Mendelson. They’ve given The Candy House quite an appealing PB cover, but after not particularly enjoying my reread of A Visit from the Goon Squad I think I’ll pass. I have Hourglass on my e-reader and should give it a try.
Probably a wise decision with the Egan! Pleased to hear that about the Tyler and I quite fancy Hourglass.
French Braid has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while. It will be my first Anne Tyler when I finally get round to reading it.
Hope you enjoy it when you get to it. She’s reliably good!
I’m hoping to get to the Denton for Reading Ireland Month, as I got it from the library last week. I’ve had the Egan on my ereader since it came out, but still haven’t managed to get to it!
Keen to see what you think of the Denton, Cathy. I enjoyed the Egan but unless your a big fan, I suspect it’s missable.
The Anne Tyler is great, one of her best I think.
Oh, excellent! I’ll look forward to reading it.
The Exhibitionist was great and French Braid was a really good Tyler, one of her better ones out of the whole oeuvre I think and definitely a solid return to form (although also feeling quite elegaic; I do wonder if we’ll see another from her now).
It was excellent, wasn’t it. Lots of love on here for French Braid I’m pleased to say. I was surprised when it was published as I thought she’s said a while back that she was done but perhaps I’m misremembering.
No, she definitely did, back when she did Vinegar Girl, for a start!
Blimey! That was ages ago. Perhaps she’s hedging her bets.
I’m undecided about the Anne Tyler. She writes beautifully but each time I get to the end and wonder what the point of the book was.
I have a fondness for her novels although, if pressed, I probably couldn’t give you much detail from any of them. She’s very good at exploring domestic themes, I think.
I just started reading The Candy House this morning as I enjoyed A Visit From the Goon Squad, but will see how things go 🙂
I wish I’d reread Goon Squad of which I have a pretty fuzzy memory! Hope you enjoy this one, too.
I enjoyed French Braid and love reading about long road trips, so the setting in Ireland sounds ideal.
https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com/2023/01/sunday-salon-ghost-girl-banana-by-wiz.html
Pleased to hear from another French Braid fan. I’m very fond of both road novels and movies.
Heartbreak looks a really interesting take on the love story, I’ll be very interested to hear what you think of that one.
Not sure what to make of the blurb for that one but I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually.
Yes, French Braid is a reliably good read for Tyler fans, indeed!
Excellent news!
The Exhibitionist appeals the most, but all the love for French Braid has me thinking I should catch up with Anne Tyler too!
It does seem to be everyone’s favourite! The Exhibitionist is excruciating at times thanks to Ray’s towering ego but the ending is worth it.