I’ve read all but one of August’s slim paperback pickings, beginning with a novel which made it on to my books of 2022 list. A coming-of-age story set in 1940s Tasmania with the Second World War a distant hum, Limberlost follows fifteen-year-old Ned who spends his summer hunting rabbits, saving his earnings in the hopes of buying a boat. He’s a lost boy without his brothers, longing for the approval of a father and sister whose thoughts are often far away from home. I loved both of Arnott’s previous novels but Limberlost feels more assured, the work of a novelist whose writing continues to mature in a way that many never achieve.
Hiroko Oyamada’s eye-catching Weasels in the Attic comprises three closely linked episodes in which a middle-aged man shares a meal with his best friend, Saiki, each momentous in its own way. Over the course of these three suppers Saiki changes from an urban male, none too inquiring about a mutual friend’s relationship with a subservient woman two decades his junior, to a considerate husband, father and neighbour. Meanwhile our narrator and his wife quietly struggle with the aching sadness of involuntary childlessness. A quick read but one whose striking images, touch of the surreal and occasional flashes of humour has stayed with me.
Rin Usami’s Idol, Burning follows Akari, an awkward teenager devoted to her ‘oshi’ whose reputation is rubbished when he allegedly assaults a fan. Akari first saw Masaki when she was only four and he was twelve performing in Peter Pan. Now he’s a member of a boy band, regularly winning popularity polls. Akari spends her life recording Masaki’s every utterance, in an effort to see the world through his eyes until she’s forced to face the fact of Masaki’s exit from public life and find a reason to live. Usami’s strikingly written novella explores the world of obsessive fandom and the consequences of flaming those who live their lives in the public eye.
I took Joe Thomas’ White Riot on holiday to Glasgow earlier this year, an unusual choice for me given he’s a crime writer. Beginning in 1978, it follows Patrick Noble, Hackney born and bred, attached to the Met Race Crime Initiative, who sets up two undercover operatives when several racist murders are committed. Two years later, he’s called in again when Colin Roach, a young black man, dies in odd circumstances in the foyer of Stoke Newington police station. Rich in period detail backed up by a lengthy bibliography, Thomas’ novel pulls no punches in its depiction of a racist police element, not averse to running protection, prostitution and drug rackets or putting the boot in when the opportunity arises. As I so often say, it would make an excellent TV series in the right hands.
That’s it for August. 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.
Limberlost was one of my personal Books of 2022, and most of your other choices here look appetising. I wouldn’t turn down the chance to read any of these. I’ll keep my eyes open!
I have high hopes that Limberlost will make it on to the Booker longlist although, given my track record, it probably won’t!
I’ve yet to read a bad, or even an indifferent review of it.
Delighted to hear that! I’d recommend his first novel, Flames, if you don’t mind a bit of magic realism. I do but I liked it very much
Hmm. Me and magic realism 🙁
Oh, me, too. I’ve reviewed it on the blog if you’d like to check it out.
Will do! Thanks.
Love the title of Weasels In the Attic!
Isn’t it great? Perfect cover for it, too.
Weasels in the Attic sounds good as does Idol, Burning, both of which I think will find their way on to my TBR. Limberlost I’m embarrassed to admit has been waiting on mount TBR for a fair few months now even though I’ve been very keen to get to it.
Ah, we all know that feeling! Both the others are quick but rewarding reads if that helps.
I was so impressed with the Fofana. He did win a Whiting Award, but I’d hoped for more prizes for this collection.
Everything the Light Touches was an interesting concept but each of the narratives felt like they could have been separate novellas; they didn’t achieve anything by being put together.
Ah, I did wonder if that might be the case with the Pariat. Wasn’t the Fofana superb? Very much looking forward to whatever he comes up with next.
I did start reading The Rain Heron by Arnott but probably wasn’t in the right frame of mind because I couldn’t get into it. Maybe Limberlost will be more to my taste
I think you’d enjoy Limberlost, Karen. It’s the only one without a hint of magic realism, something I find hard to swallow with most authors.
All of these sound so tempting 🙂 I’m not always a fan of cutesy style but the cover of Weasels really works!
Ha! It’s a great fit for the book.
Limberlost was my book of 2022. I adored it.
Me, too. It’s on my Booker wish list!
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs immediately appeals. The cover itself very evocative.
That cover and the interlinking between tenants and their stories is irresistible, isn’t it. Highly recommend this one.