I’ve read all but one of the first instalment of April paperback goodies, several of which turned up on my books of 2022 list beginning with acclaimed short story writer Louise Kennedy’s first novel, Trespasses, which sees a Catholic teacher falling in love with an older man, a prominent barrister, married and a Protestant. Michael’s requests for Cushla to give Irish lessons to him and his friends usher her into the world of the comfortably off, educated Protestant middle class while paving the way to an affair. Set it in County Down where she grew up, Kennedy’s deeply moving novel explores the Troubles through a tender love story which echoes the divisions running through Northern Irish society. Delighted to see this one on the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist.
Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo is set in similar sectarian territory, this time in early ‘90s Glasgow. Fifteen-year-old Mungo is
his mother’s darling, soft-hearted and adoring of her, in need of toughening up as far as his older brother is concerned. When Mungo spots James tending his pigeons a friendship begins which gradually becomes something else taking them into dangerous territory in their homophobic neighbourhood, even more so given that Mungo is a Catholic and James a Protestant. Written with the same wit, compassion and tenderness that made the Booker Prize-winning Shuggie Bain such a striking and affecting novel, Young Mungo is very dark at times. Best have the tissues handy; I chose to interpret the ending as hopeful perhaps because it was too heart wrenching to do otherwise.
Still in the ‘90s but with a very different backdrop, James Cahill’s debut, Tiepolo Blue, follows Don Lamb, closeted professor of art history at Peterhouse, Cambridge, who has led a life so attenuated he knows little or nothing of the world outside his college until he’s thrust onto the London gallery circuit after a complaint to the college’s new Master blows up in his face. Cahill skewers the art world nicely and the pompous vanity of academia is excruciatingly well portrayed. I’m wary of giving too much away about this one for fear of spoiling it. Suffice to say it’s very smartly put together. I’d guessed what was happening about halfway through but it still had me gripped, wondering when the penny would drop for Don.
Another 2022 favourite, Kate Atkinson’s gloriously entertaining Shrines of Gaiety is set in Soho in 1926, when it was home to nightclubs offering a whole host of delights, not all of them legal, several run by Nellie Coker. Just out of prison, she’s determined to reassert her authority despite the secondment of D I Frobisher to Bow Street to sort things out. As the plot thickens, which it pleasingly does, it seems that Nellie has more than one reason to be concerned. Meanwhile bodies keep washing up at Dead Man’s Hole, some of them girls. Atkinson’s novel is wonderfully atmospheric, full of sharply drawn characters, rich in backstories, with an intricate plot into which revelations are casually dropped and there’s great deal of sly humour to enjoy.
The theme of female friendship runs through Carlene Bauer’s Girls They Write Songs About which makes it instantly appealing for me. Two young women, both very different, both freshly graduated, move to New York in the ‘90s. Working on the same music magazine, Rose and Charlotte become friends, a friendship that will see them through marriage, motherhood, divorce, success and failure until they fall out of step with each other, all of which sounds right up my street.
April’s first paperback short story collection is filmmaker Rebecca Miller’s Total. Rather like Personal Velocity, published two
decades ago, Miller’s stories explore themes of motherhood, love, ageing and sexuality, all but one written from the perspective of women, several at crucial junctures in their lives. Miller’s characters are compelling, sometimes a little eccentric, their worlds drawn in vivid colours. There’s a pleasing sly wit running through many of the stories which are peppered with striking, occasionally provocative images and sometimes end a little disconcertingly leaving the reader with much to think about.
That’s it for April’s first batch of paperbacks. 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, and if you’d like to catch up with new fiction it’s here and here. Part two soon…
Of these, I’ve only so far read Shrines of Gaiety, which slightly disappointed me. From this selection, I think Young Mungo is going straight on the list.
Several people have mentioned to me that they weren’t so keen on the Atkinson. I think I may be such a fan I slip my critical faculties into neutral with her. Young Mungo is a real heart wringer!
All so tempting! I preferred the hardback cover for Shrines of Gaiety, I wish they’d kept it. But maybe they thought it needed a more specific scene on the front.
I’m not at all sure what goes through publishers’ minds when they change covers so radically. The hardback’s certainly more subtle
I wonder if the publishers are going for a Christopher Isherwood ‘Goodbye to Berlin’ style vibe with that paperback cover? It’s the first thing I thought of on seeing the image, even though the novel is set in 1920s London.
Lots of interesting options here for my subscription readers, Susan. I loved Trespasses, so that’s definitely on my list to select / recommend. Shrines of Gaiety should do well too, especially given Atkinson’s popularity.
I’ve just read Trespasses and loved it. Tiepolo Blue is on my shelves.
I’d love to see Trespasses win the Women’s Prize. Hope you enjoy Tiepolo Blue. I know you like an art theme!
Quite a few that tempt me there – pretty much all of them, to be honest. Tiepolo Blue sounds quite fun – skewering the art world and academia? Yes, please!
Both need a good skewering now and again!
Tiepolo Blue looks good as does Trespasses. Young Mungo I’m a little wary of because it might just be too heart-breaking.
Not one to read if you’re feeling very down but it’s so well written.
I’ve just finished Trespasses and enjoyed it, though not quite as much as you, I think. And Shrines of Gaiety is on my wishlist. So I’ve done better than usual out of this selection!
Maybe I should dial back your Atkinson expectations! Several readers have said they were a bit disappointed.
To be honest, my expectations are fairly moderate already – I’ve had a quite mixed reaction to Atkinson’s previous books. But I still always find that she’s worth sticking with, since when she’s good, she’s very good!
And she never kills off a dog!
Definitely want to get to Tiepolo Blue. I didn’t really get on with Young Mungo I’m afraid.
Oh, that’s a shame. Hope you get better with the Cahill.
I still have Shrines of Gaiety in hardback to read…
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, Janet.
I had meant to read Trespasses this month but just haven’t got around to it. It’s the one book of that great selection that I really want to read and already have tbr.
I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. Quite an emotionally taxing read but worth it.
Girls They Write Songs About is excellent; I read it from NetGalley quite a while ago.
Oh, that’s great! Thanks for whetting my appetite.