I’ve read just two from January’s second batch of paperbacks, beginning with one I had hoped would make it on to my books of the year list.
In Ainslie Hogarth’s Normal Women Dani has recently returned to her hometown, thanks to her husband’s promotion, and is now a fulltime mother. She slips into a routine with her old friend Anya, brunching with ‘mom friends’ to whom she persists in feeling superior until she’s hit with the realisation that she and her daughter are entirely financially dependent on Clark. A visit to the erstwhile red-light area, now gentrified, results in a discussion with the charismatic Renata. Then Renata disappears leaving Dani bereft and prey to ever more baroque theories as to what’s happened to this woman with whom she’s become obsessed. Written in the kind of waspish, snarky tone I enjoy, Hogarth’s novel is hugely entertaining for the most part but the plot woven around Renata’s disappearance peters out in rather implausible way.
Taking aim at the ubiquitous online store which has made itself indispensable to so many consumers while never naming it, Adelle Waldman’s Help Wanted sees the staff of the logistics department of a small town department store settle on a surprising and risky strategy when their popular boss is promoted leaving the field wide open for the incompetent, insensitive Meredith to replace him. Waldman’s empathetic novel engages our sympathy for the hard-pressed Movement staff on minimum wage with no benefits or medical insurance, exploring the consequences of twenty-first-century consumerism and its appetite for ever cheaper goods in an entertaining and engaging way while smartly bringing its readers up short now and again.
Susan Muaddi Darraj’s debut, Behind You Is the Sea, is about three Palestinian immigrant families who have settled in the US with varying experiences of welcome. The Ammars employ Maysoon Baladi to clean up the messes of their over-indulged teenagers while Marcus Salameh is intent on preserving his sister’s honour which entails an enlightening trip to Palestine. ‘Behind You Is the Sea faces stereotypes about Palestinian culture head-on, shifting perspectives to weave a complex social fabric replete with weddings, funerals, broken hearts, and devastating secrets’ says the blurb promisingly. Immigration is always a theme that interests me.
Award-winning translator Jennifer Croft made her debut as a novelist this year with The Extinction of Irena Rey
. Eight translators, commissioned to translate the eponymous author’s work, are alarmed when she disappears into the forest close to the Polish border with Belarus. They set off in search of her uncovering shocking secrets and deceptions while rivalries and differences further strain relationships within the group which is soon gripped by paranoia. ‘This hilarious, thought-provoking second outing by award-winning translator and author Jennifer Croft is a brilliant examination of art, celebrity, the natural world, and the power of language’ says the blurb promisingly. Very much like the sound of that.
January’s short story collection comes garlanded with praise from the likes of Donal Ryan and Lucy Caldwell. Comprising stories which range from two siblings watching their parents argue to a support group for the haunted, Jan Carson’s Children’s Children explores characters who are all falling apart in their own often peculiar ways. ‘Told in Jan Carson’s distinctive voice, her debut short story collection contains absurdist, darkly humorous and heartbreaking stories which explore the concept of legacy, and the impact of one generation upon the next’ says the blurb whetting my appetite nicely.
That’s it for January. 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 part one it’s here. New fiction is here and here.
For those who celebrate it, I hope you have a brilliant Christmas, and for those who’ve slogged through the build-up in retail and hospitality who will likely be back to work sooner that most of us, I hope you grab some rest and relaxation. See you on the other side…
I thought Help Wanted was great but unfortunately I found Behind You Is The Sea very disappointing. The prose and characterisation were both too simplistic for me, though there were a couple of stories I did like.
Thats’ a shame about the Darraj. I’ll dial back my expectations.
Lots of tasty ideas here. As a fully paid-up and militant member of the Anti-Amazon League, Help Wanted attracts my attention. And I’d only come across Jennifer Croft as a translator, so I’ll be interested in reading her as she writes her own thing. In fact I’ll look out for all these.
I loathe Amazon who have achieved exactly what they set out to do while treating their staff abominably. I’m looking forward to the Croft. She’s a great translator, isn’t she.
The number of friends, normally socially aware, whose first response to needing something not in a local shop is to look on Amazon continues to astound me. Yes, I’m a fan of Croft’s translations. Let’s see if she can do her own stuff too!
I know exactly what you mean.
The Croft is especially appealing! It sounds an interesting way to explore the themes.
It does, doesn’t it, and it’s a world she knows very well!
Jan Carson is an excellent short story writer from Northern Ireland. I love her insights on all things northern. Finally gaining more recognition for her work. She would be my pick here.
I’ve read one of her novels but have yet to read her short stories.
I thought the Darraj was terrific; it will appear on my Best-of list for the year.
I’m interested in trying the Waldman again, perhaps with my book club. I had it out from the library earlier in the year but didn’t have time for it.
That’s a very different reaction from Laura’s. I’ll have to read it now!
I’ve disliked Amazon and their tactics for a long time which was part of the attraction of Help Wanted for me but it’s always worth reading a workplace novel. Lots for a book club to talk about.
Help Wanted looks excellent and I’m intrigued by Irina Ray too. That cover for Normal Women is quite disconcerting!
A Happy Christmas to you and yours Susan!
It is, isn’t it. Thank you, Mallika, and to you!
You tempted me with Help Wanted so am now waiting for my copy to come from the library. Still trying to decide whether I want to read Behind You Is the Sea – maybe I’ll wait until you read it before deciding. LOL
Mixed feelings about Behind You is the Sea after reading a few comments here and elsewhere. I hope you enjoy Help Wanted, Karen.
I think I must read Help Wanted, and I’m also drawn to The Extinction of Irena Rey. I love the idea of a translator writing a novel about translators!
I gather it’s funny too. I liked the way Waldman skewered twenty-first-century consumerism while not letting her readers off the hook.