September sees the publication of several novels many readers are probably already well aware of from social media, beginning with a one I’m sure will be 
piled up on Christmas tables. Sally Rooney’s one of those authors who provokes strong reactions in readers but whether you love her writing or find it infuriating, it will be hard to get away from Intermezzo. Peter and Ivan have recently lost their father. Peter is a successful lawyer in his thirties with a complicated love life, struggling to keep afloat in his bereavement. In the wake of his father’s death, the more introverted Ivan has embarked on a relationship with an older woman with a troubled past. ‘For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude – a period of desire, despair and possibility – a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking’ says the blurb which I find enticing but others might beg to differ.
I’ve not read Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind but I do remember it featuring on one of President Obama’s reading lists, 
an endorsement that still makes publishers’ hearts sing, I’m sure, predisposing me to read Entitlement. Alam’s new novel follows a bright, idealistic young black woman as she navigates the world of the super-rich in her new job working for a philanthropic foundation. Little by little as she becomes more accustomed to the way the wealthy live, the ease with which they spend the kind of money most people can barely imagine, her integrity slips. I enjoyed Alam’s novel for its themes rather than his writing style, likened to Don DeLillo’s in the press release, which is not to my taste. That said, I’m glad I read it. Review to follow…
I loved Katja Oskamp’s Marzhan, Mon Amour, a tender, affectionate portrait of a community told through a set of thumbnail sketches, and was thrilled when it won 2023 Dublin Literary Award. Half Swimmer follows Tanja, the daughter of an army officer and a teacher, growing up in the old GDR with her eyes on a different future from the one her country might offer until everything changes. ‘Half Swimmer is a series of memories from one life, following a girl as she forges her own identity under the GDR and the capitalism of a unified Germany’ says the blurb suggesting a similar episodic structure to the one that worked so well in Marzhan, Mon Amour. Very much looking forward to this one. 
Olga Tokarczuk’s dark, funny Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead was quite a hit when it was published in translation back in 2018. The Empusium sees a young student suffering from tuberculosis taking up residence in a health resort in 1913 where he becomes convinced that he and his fellow residents are being watched. Tales of shocking events, both in the guesthouse and its surroundings, unsettle the men instilling a sense of foreboding. ‘A century after the publication of The Magic Mountain, Olga Tokarczuk revisits Thomas Mann territory and lays claim to it, blending horror story, comedy, folklore and feminist parable with brilliant storytelling’ says the blurb. I’m not entirely sure about this one.
I had no such doubts about Christine Dwyer Hickey’s Our London Lives, getting stuck in as soon as it dropped through my 
letterbox having loved both The Narrow Land and The Lives of Women. Hickey writes beautifully crafted thoughtful novels, often from the perspective of women. Spanning almost forty years, her new one is a love story set against the backdrop of a changing London beginning in 1979 with the arrival of eighteen-year-old Milly who finds herself a job in a pub and a home with Mrs Oak. It’s not long before Pip, a promising young boxer, catches her eye and she his. Hickey unfolds this gorgeous, immersive love story in alternating narratives. I’ve enjoyed all of Hickey’s novels, but this is my favourite. The ending left me quite tearful. Review shortly…
That’s it for September’s first batch of new fiction. As ever, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis for any that take you fancy. Part two soon…
Only a few weeks back to blogging and I’m hooked on your preview posts, Susan! I do like Sally Rooney and will be reading Intermezzo. I also found the writing in The Narrow Land impressive, and will definitely be looking out for Our London Lives, particularly since you think it’s her best – that’s a great endorsement!
Pleased to hear you’re a Rooney fan, Victoria! I was very sorry not to see Our London Lives on the Booker longlist. It’s a book to luxuriate in.
What a round up! I am especially interested in Half Swimmer and Our London Lives.
I can certainly vouch for Our London Lives. Hoping that Half Swimmer is as good as Marzahn, Mon Amour.
I like the sound of all of these, but especially Half Swimmer.
Very keen to read that. Marzhan, Mon Amour was such a treat.
Good to hear.
Thanks, Susan. I can’t get on with Rooney but am pleased to see there’s a new Christine Dwyer Hickey coming – I loved The Narrow Land.
You’re welcome! The Hickey is so good. She captures London beautifully.
There’s so much out in September! I already have Kushner and Powers from the Booker longlist lined up. I actually enjoy Rooney’s novels but not enough to rush out to buy her latest.
Me, too. Happy enough to wait until the paperback. Definitely an interesting month with publishers gearing up for Christmas.
Well you’ve just sold me the Hickey with that tearful at the end comment!
Oh, excellent! I believe it’s still on Netgalley…
I have pre-ordered the Rooney (of course!) but the Oskamp and Dwyer-Hickey look good – I’m a sucker for a East/West Germany story.
I’m sure you’ve already read Oskamp’s Marzahn, Mon Amour. Our London Lives is a treat, too.
Half Swimmer is really tempting, even though I still haven’t read Marzhan, Mon Amour. And Christine Dwyer Hickey is definitely on the list too. Some real treats!
There are, aren’t there. Marzahn is the only entirely cheerful Peirene I’ve read. Highly recommend it!
Once again so many tempting titles Susan. Empusium, Entitlement and Our London Lives especially. I read a slightly creepy YA title also set in a sanitarium in the early twentieth century last year and can imagine this one with creepy levels multiplied.
It’s an interesting setting for a novel, isn’t it. I’ve read a couple over the years that have used it well – Linda Grant’s The Dark Circle and Andrea Barrett’s The Air We Breathe come to mind.
Yes, even in ‘normal’ circumstances I think it makes for an interesting setting and where the spookiness begins to creep in, even more so. The book I read had a young girl taken in as a test subject for new treatment and then placed in an absolutely empty ward. Every thing else seems fine but no other patient seems to join…
That sounds distinctly unsettling.
It was YA so though things do get that way, it isn’t too much if that makes sense.
On the strength of this gaggle of reviews, I’ve reserved the Christine Dwyer Hickey, who hadn’t previously crossed my radar, from the library. And while Katja Oskamp HAS been on my radar, somehow I haven’t read anything by her yet. So much to put right in my reading world!
You’ve chose two brilliant authors there. I can certainly vouch for Our London Lives. One of my books of 2024 for sure
I hope there isn’t anything like the level of hype we saw over Sally Rooney’s previous books. Honestly you’d have thought she was a writer of such excellence that she could’t be surpassed. I struggled through one of them and that was enough
I’m afraid I think your hopes will be dashed. It’s been ramping up on social media for at least a month, already. I’m a fan but certainly wouldn’t proclaim her as the finest writer of the century.
Mercifully I have escaped it so far then
Rumaan Alam has a prize in my books, the author whose books I’ve most frequently borrowed and have not yet managed to read (this is a good sign, because they’re constantly in demand at the library). Despite that, I remain convinced that I’ll enjoy them all. I”m on hold for the new Rooney novel, curious about this theme.
I enjoyed the themes in Entitlement but have to say his style got in the way for me. Keen to read the Rooney.