By March, spring is firmly in my sights with hopes for fine weather and outdoor get togethers although I know we’re a long way from that. In the meantime, 
Natasha Brown’s debut, Assembly, was one of my books of 2021: a brief, astonishingly powerful novella about a young woman of colour reassessing her place in the world. Her new one, Universality, sees a journalist solve a mystery surrounding the bludgeoning of a man on a Yorkshire farm with a solid gold bar, a solution which throws up more questions than it answers. ‘Universality is a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power. Through a voyeuristic lens, it focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean’ says the blurb promisingly.
Claire Baglin’s
I’m not entirely sure about Xiaolu Guo’s Call Me Ishmaelle, either, but I was impressed enough with I am China back in 2014 to give this one a try. As you can guess from the title, it’s a reworking of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick which sees Ishmaelle, born in Kent in 1843, disguising herself as a cabin boy and working a passage to New York, then later aboard the whaling ship Nimrod under the obsessive Captain Seneca. ‘Xiaolu Guo has crafted a dramatically different, feminist narrative that stands alongside the original while offering a powerful exploration of nature, gender and human purpose’ promises the blurb which sounds extraordinarily ambitious but then so was I am China.
Billed appealingly as a road novel, Benjamin Markovit’s The Rest of Our Lives follows fifty-five-year-old Tom Layward whose daughter is about to start college leaving behind her parents unsure of their own future. Tom’s health seems to be a concern to everyone, but his doctor and he’s been suspended from his professorship for his political stance. After driving his daughter to Pittsburgh, he sets off on an odyssey not quite knowing where he’s going. We’re in classic mid-life crisis territory as Tom remembers his youth, wonders about resurrecting the idea he had for a novel, broods on his wife’s affair and what their future life together might be if there is to be one. I enjoyed this one for its structure and have read several novels by Markovits, including The Sidekick, but I’m not sure I’ll be reading another. Review soon…
Madeleine Watt’s Elegy, Southwest is also a road novel which I spotted on social media thanks to a passionately enthusiastic 
That’s it for March’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 when I get back from Stockholm where I’m nipping off to with H tomorrow.
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Brown will be a must-read for me! I have enjoyed all the Guo books I’ve read, but a re-gendered feminist Moby Dick is probably one step too far. I have read the uber-masculine original fully(!) and appreciated its effects on American novels thereafter, but have no desire to revisit its milieu really.
I’m with you on the Brown. Assembly was superb, wasn’t it. I’ve a feeling I’ll chicken out with the Guo!
I wonder if the Guo actually is feminist, or if it’s a case of the marketers using that word because it’s a gender-swap. The valence of the term seems to have slipped recently to “any work of art featuring a woman”. I really liked her novels UFO In Her Eyes and A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers, though. I suppose we’ll see!
That’s a good point. I tend to be wary of retellings too.
Oh god this point about feminism and fiction is so true! I’ve historically struggled with Guo’s fiction, despite loving her memoir Once Upon A Time in the East, so I’ll probably skip this one.
I liked Assembly but it seems not enough to make me super keen to read Brown’s next – I do find novellas difficult to warm to.
I have a deep mistrust of blurbs.
I’ve become very fond of novellas if done well. This one doesn’t appeal to me quite as much as Assembly but I’ll probably read it.
I hate being the one who says it because it sounds mean and reactionary, but not all works of fiction with women in them are feminist! It’s become a marketing category, which diminishes the power of the idea.
You’ve reminded me I have I Am China in the TBR which I must dig out! Not sure about Ishmaelle though…
You’re welcome! Me, neither. Perhaps best wait to see some reviews.
I really like the sound of Elegy, Southwest and might try to get hold of that. I have other books by Guo on my TBR that I must get to, and kind of feel I ought to read Moby Dick (which I never have) before attempting alternate versions. But I’m very curious to see what the reviews are like for it! Have a wonderful time in Stockholm!
I have tried with Moby Dick after H raved about it but I didn’t manage to get very far which is another reason why I’m not so keen on the Guo, I can heartily recommend Elegy, Southwest though. Thank you. We’re all packed and ready to go!
I think Elegy, Southwest is the most appealing of the list. More new writers for me. Enjoy Stockholm. I have only been to Gothenburg and was impressed by it, Sweden is on my list of places to visit.
Highly recommend Elegy, Southwest. Thank you! So far, so good.
Assembly is on order at our library service, so I’ve reserved it. Of the rest, the Baglin definitely appeals, and I’ll get hold of it, though sadly not through the library service. NYCC is is also getting copies of the next two books you mention, which I may – or may not – read. I currently have eleven loans out, because all my reservations landed at once. I’m slightly in panic mode …
Blimey! That is a lot. At least the Brown is short.
Very curious to hear what you think of Natasha Brown’s new one, Susan. Like you, I was knocked out by Assembly, although I know it divided opinion at the time. It’ll be interesting to see the reviews of Universality as I suspect expectations will be very high.
I’m sure they will be, Jacqui. Assembly was superb, wasn’t it.
Hadn’t come across On the Clock but I’ll look for it.
I’m not sure Daunts have a distributor in Australia. Looks good though.
On the Clock sounds great, definitely going to keep an eye out for it.
It does, doesn’t it. Daunt have such an interesting list.
Either I’m not seeing a typo in my search or there is not yet a US release date for The Rest of Our Lives. I’m very interested in your take on it.
That’s odd given he’s American. Mixed feelings but I’ll be reviewing around the UK publication date.
I know, right? I can’t proof read to save my life. I’ll check later this week.
Another wonderful set of choices here, Susan. I rather like the sound of On the Clock.
Have a great trip!
On the Clock seems a popular choice. Having a brilliant time, thanks!
IIRC On the Clock had a good review the other week in the NYT. Either way, it sounds good to me. And I don’t always enjoy reading Guo, but she always makes me think. In theory, this sounds like one for me. But I would have to break my private rule of reading the original text first…
That’s encouraging to hear. Good luck with the Guo if you go for it!
Great list. (I’ve also enjoyed reading the comments.) Ishmaelle does sound ambitious. I’m curious what the reactions will be among critics and readers, as those who love Moby Dick are fiercely passionate and don’t, in my experience, hold back. Not sure I’ll read it, though. Still need to read/finish MB.
Pleased to hear you liked it! My partner is a huge Moby Dick fan but I didn’t get very far with it hence my reluctance to tackle Ishmaelle. It does sound likely to be controversial for some.