Enough paperback goodies to brighten up what’s probably my least favourite month, I’m pleased to say, beginning with Andrew O’Hagan’s Caledonian Road billed as a state-of-the-nation novel which I always find appealing. Opening in May 2021, it follows Campbell Flynn, an art historian and celebrity intellectual who enjoys stirring things up, and Milo Manghasa, his student, who also likes to be provocative. ‘Over the course of an incendiary year, a web of crimes, secrets and scandals will be revealed, and Campbell Flynn may not be able to protect himself from the shattering exposure of his privilege and his connections. But then, he always knew: when his life came tumbling down, it would occur in public’ says the publisher which sounds like fun although it’s a bit of a doorstopper.
Keiran Goddard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning follows five childhood friends, now thirty. Four of them still live on the estate where they grew up: Oli is frittering away his life on drink and drugs; Conor has high hopes for his business plan and a baby on the way; Patrick and Shiv are in love while Rian is looking over his shoulder at the past. ‘Bold, ambitious and stylistically striking, I See Buildings Fall like Lightning asks what happens when all the things we expect from our lives end up … not happening. It lays bare the ways that place and circumstance shape us, explores the redeeming and transforming beauty of friendship and examines the true limits of hope and forgiveness’ says the blurb whetting my appetite. Always here for a revisiting old friendship novel, particularly when a revelation is thrown into the works.
Andrew McMillan’s Pity is set in what was once a mining community where generations of men spent their working lives in dangerous conditions with a sense of purpose now stripped away. Alex and Brian grew up in this town where their father was born. Now middle-aged, Alex is facing a crisis of identity while his twentysomething son works in a call centre, performing as a drag artist at the weekend. ‘Andrew McMillan’s short and magnificent debut novel is a lament for a lost way of a life as well as a celebration of resilience and the possibility for change’ according to the blurb suggesting a glimmering of hope.
Hanako Footman’s Mongrel explores identity through three women: Mei, brought up in Surrey, who lost her Japanese mother aged six and falls in love with her best friend; Yuki whose dream of becoming a violinist takes her from rural Japan to London and Haruka who works as a Tokyo bar hostess, grieving her mother and uncovering her secrets. ‘Shifting between three intertwining narratives, Mongrel reveals a tangled web of isolation, desire, love, and ultimately, hope’ says the blurb promisingly.
That’s it for February’s first batch of paperbacks. 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 and here. Part two soon…
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I recently got Caledonian Road out of the library, and had to take it back, unread, because it was in demand. Best buy a pb copy I think! And all of these look worth a go.
Interesting – I’ll be doing the same. It sounds like an easy but engaging read to me.
I met Andrew McMillan at the Northern Writers’ Awards ceremony last year and I’ve got Pity on my Kindle, ready to go!
My least favourite month is July 😀
I’ll be interested to know what you think of it.
My favourites are May and June, full of unrealistic optimism for the summer, and September before the misery of approaching winter misery sets in!
I love the autumn and winter 🙂 September-December is my favourite period.
Always happy to have the shortest day behind me.
Pity is one I really want to read, although all of these look strong. June is my least favourite month – the grass pollen is a nightmare!
Much sympathy with that! My father suffered badly with hay fever so I know what that’s like.
I was sent a hardback of Mongrel, but couldn’t get going on it – I might try it again. Caledonian Road is one I’m looking forward to though, I too do like a state of the nation type novel.
Definitely one to pick up in paperback soonish. I’m sorry about Mongrel. The blurb suggests such an attractive premise.
It was the wrong book at the time for me I think. I’ll definitely try it again.
Caledonian Road looks good as does The Hive and the Honey. I didn’t much care for Mongrel, though it did improve as I read on (one of those I plodded through because it was a review copy).
That’s two thumbs down for Mongrel which might knock it off my list. The Hive and the Honey is brilliant!
Will look it up. I think there were some positive reviews for Mongrel on GR but sadly, it just didn’t work for me.
I really get the sense that O’Hagan is at the height of his powers these days, but that’s mostly from reading his reviews in the LRB. The most recent one he did about Christopher Isherwood was sublime. Great round-up, as ever, Susan!
I’ll check that out. Thanks, Jennifer!
The fact that Miller’s book is a tome is putting me off, although I hope to see him at a Book Festival in Ireland in early March. I like reading his articles. I have heard of Goddard previously and this new book sounds interesting. Just started Kushner’s Creation Lake, and it’s promising so far.
That’s good to know. I didn’t have much luck with The Mars Room but I might try Creation Lake.
Hi! Trying to grow my blog. Follow for follow back? Sincerely, Mikayla Scotlynd Littrell (MetsMadness the blog)
Hi Mikayla, I’m not a sports fan, I’m afraid. I won’t be offended if you unfollow me!
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning really appeals, and what a title!
That and the cover alone makes me want to read it!
Pity is the one that’s calling to me the most. Since I grew up in a mining community where the villages/towns existed only to serve the mines, I know what happens when those industries go into a decline and move out
It appeals to me for similar reasons, Karen.
At the moment, I’m in the market for cheering books and I’m not sure these quite fit the bill – though Caledonian Road is tempting (long audio listen, though). Any of them seem amusing to you, Susan? I can’t quite do melancholy in February – totally agree with you that it is the dreariest of months!
Sadly, not, although I think Caledonian Road will be entertaining. The one thing to be said for February is that it’s short!
I’ve always enjoyed O’Hagan’s essays but have never got around to trying his fiction. Caledonian Road sounds like a perfect place to start! Thanks for this roundup—it’s good to know what’s coming up.
You’re welcome. They’re very enjoyable posts to put together. Hope you enjoy Caledonian Road!
I haven’t found a copy of Paul Yoon’s stories yet, but I definitely want to read them.
But apart from that, Pity is the one which strikes me most in this reading moment. Mining stories: my thing.
The Yoon was one of last year’s standouts for me. Pity does sound good, doesn’t it.
Pity is wonderful, one of my books of the year and I bought a copy for my best friend, too!
Delighted to hear that!