I’m kicking off this second instalment of June’s new fiction with a novel by a writer whose debut had a great deal of prepublication attention. I much prefer Brandon Taylor’s The Late Americans to Real Life but perhaps all that brouhaha had raised my expectations unrealistically high. Reading like a series of intricately linked short stories, it follows a group of post-grad students in their final year, all facing an uncertain future when they leave their Iowan campus. There’s a lot going on in Taylor’s portrayal of this diverse set of young Americans as they prepare to launch themselves into life outside academia. Characters are complex, fleshed out with backstories that occasionally surprise. I talked about this novel a lot when I read it and thought about it a great deal more. Review soon…
Billed as ‘sensual and sublimely stylish’ K Patrick’s debut Mrs S has been all over my Twitter feed for months. The young Australian woman newly appointed as matron of an exclusive girls’ boarding school feels out of her depth until she meets the eponymous headmaster’s wife. The antithesis of each other, these two woman are drawn into a passionate affair which stretches over the summer until a choice must be made. ‘K Patrick’s portrait of the butch experience is revelatory; exploring the contested terrain of our bodies, our desires and the constraints society places around both. Mrs S marks the arrival of a major new literary talent, unlike any other’ according to the blurb. Not entirely sure about this one but it sounds worth investigating.
I somehow never got around to reading either Leïla Slimani’s Lullaby or The Country of Others, both much acclaimed. Set in 1968, Watch Us Dance follows two siblings, children of a French mother and Moroccan father, who anticipate a vibrant future in their newly independent country. Studious Aicha has her eyes set on becoming a doctor while her younger brother finds himself caught up with American and European hippies who have travelled to Morocco bent on a hedonistic life. Both find their ideals punctured in a country once united against its coloniser now caught up in in-fighting for wealth and influence. Very much like the sound of that.
It’s been quite some time since Lorrie Moore’s last novel, the much acclaimed A Gate on the Stairs. Sporting a gorgeous cover, her new one, I am Homeless If This is Not My Home, follows Finn, horrified by the state of his country and on an enforced break from his job teaching history while his brother lies dying in a hospice. The phone call that interrupts his reverie with a jolt ‘will prompt a questioning of life and death, grief and the past, comedy and tragedy, and the diaphanous separations that lie between them all’ says the blurb promisingly.
Love in Five Acts author Daniela Krien’s The Fire explores a long marriage at a point of crisis over three summer weeks spent housesitting in the countryside. Peter cares for their friends’ many animals, taking more pleasure in their company than he appears to in Rahel’s; Rahel gardens, reflecting on her marriage, the young people she sees in therapy and her daughter whose relationship is in trouble just as her own is. Slowly a long-buried question raises itself in Rahel’s mind. Little happens in this beautifully crafted novella but by the end much has been resolved. All three of the novels I’ve read by Krien have been characterised by a quiet perception, each of them expertly translated by Jamie Bulloch. Another brilliant cover, too. Review to follow…
June’s short story collection comes garlanded with praise from all sorts of starry names, from Sarah Hall to Madeleine Thien. According to the blurb, Yan Ge’s Elsewhere explores the theme of isolation, ranging far and wide from Dublin to China with a touch of the surreal here and there. ‘These are strange and beguiling stories of dispossession, longing and the diasporic experience.’ say the publishers which sounds right up my alley.
That’s it for June’s new fiction. As ever, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more, and if you’d like to catch up with part one it’s here. Paperbacks soon…
Well, to start the ball rolling, I’ve just ordered the Leïla Slimani from the library. Thanks for this series. Quite a tasty looking list!
You’re welcome! They’re enjoyable posts to put together. I’d be interested to hear how you get on with the Slimani.
It’s not actually in stock yet, so maybe it will take a while. But I’ll get at it first!
Watch Us Dance and The Late Americans are ones that stood out most to me in this batch, and The Fire for having someone in it who connects more to animals than people
The Late Americans is quite something. It’s the newly independent Morocco setting that appeals most to me about Watch Us Dance.
Some interesting books here, Susan, I shall be interested in your review of The Late Americans, while Mrs S is intriguing.
Glad you like it, Rosie. The Taylor’s already secured a place on my books of the year list!
Ooh, new Slimani! Will look out for that.
Which of her other two would you recommend, Cathy?
I really enjoyed The Perfect Nanny (although I think it had a name change to Lullaby) – a very tough read, but really well done.
Thanks, Cathy. I’ll give it a try.
I’ll try to get Elsewhere as I’m reading short stories more and more. Thanks for the heads up.
https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com/2023/05/two-memoirs-and-novel-by-asian-american.html
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it.
Ooh Lorrie Moore. One of the few writers whose short stories I genuinely adore. Adding the novel to my list, thanks.
You’re welcome! It sounds great, doesn’t it.
The Moore and Krien appeal most to me – and gorgeous covers too!
Aren’t they just? I loved the Krien.
I have proofs of the Taylor and Patrick and look forward to reading them soon. The Moore was not what I expected … Lincoln in the Bardo is the closest comparison I can make. You’d be welcome to my proof copy unless you have already sourced it.
Ah, that’s very kind but I didn’t get on with Lincoln in the Bardo at all, I’m afraid. I hope you love the Taylor as much as I did.
Lorrie Moore probably isn’t for me as I’ve struggled to engage with her in the past. That said, one of my book group friends is a fan, so I’ll let her know there’s a new one on the horizon. She’s definitely read most of Moore’s stories, but maybe not the previous novel…
Rebecca’s rather put me off by comparing it with Lincoln in the Bardo, I’m afraid.
Oh dear…funnily enough, I was going to say that I think of her in the same bracket as Saunders. Beloved by critics but not by me!
I very much enjoyed his recent short story collection but wanted to hurl LITB across the room! I tried twice, too.
Elsewhere sounds fascinating and I love the cover.
https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com
Isn’t it lovely, and the collection’s themes sound so interesting.