I’ve read all but two from June’s first batch of new fiction beginning with a novel I snapped up as soon as it appeared on NetGalley. Boogie was only eighteen when their rackety mother left her two daughters with him in Wendy Erksine’s The Benefactors. He raised them both, never distinguishing between Misty and his biological child. Misty works in a classy hotel, harbouring a fancy for Chris the son of one of the city’s richest men, happy to have been picked out when he invites her to a party in an abandoned house. The evening ends badly for her. When she reports the rape to the police, the machinery of privilege and influence swings into action. Expectations raised high by Erskine’s short stories were surpassed by this elegantly constructed, thoughtful and absorbing novel. Review shortly …
Gráinne O’Hare’s debut, Thirst Trap, sees three close friends, on the cusp of thirty, living in the house they shared with a fourth whose death in a car accident devastated them. A year later, each of them is dealing – or failing to deal – with the aftermath in their own, self-destructive way: Harley lurches from bed to bed, fuelled by a cocktail of drink and drugs; Róise seethes in her room, writing off a promising new relationship while Maggie still jumps to the tune of an old student lover who persistently refers to her as a ‘friend’. Despite the grief at the heart of her novel, O’Hare’s narrative is full of an affectionate humour for her characters. Review to follow…
Spanning nine months charting the aftermath of a shocking act, kept secret until a crisis forces it into the open, Hal Ebbott’s Among Friends begins with a country weekend birthday celebration by two wealthy New York couples and their teenage daughters. Now in their early fifties, Amos and Emerson have been close since they were college roommates. Both families are intimately bound together by this enduring friendship, but the weekend will end in a betrayal whose repercussions are profound. It’s a great premise, handled interestingly, particularly at the end, but Ebbott’s style is a bit overblown for me. I’ll certainly look out for his next novel but will approach it with caution. Review soon…
Beginning with an engagement and ending with a marriage, Laura Barnett’s Births, Deaths and Marriages follows six friends who met at university twenty years ago. Now close to forty, they face a significant year for all of them: lives will be changed irrevocably, unimaginable loss will be faced but there will be unexpected joy, too, and old desires reawakened. Barnett handles her structure beautifully, flitting in and out of her six main characters’ lives in this hugely enjoyable novel which celebrates the durability of friendships that have weathered the storm of growing up. Review shortly…
The premise of Marie Rutokoski’s Ordinary Love reminds me a little of a thread running through Elizabeth Harris’s How to Sleep at Night. Twenty years after their teenage love affair, Emily spots Gennifer at a party. Emily has settled for a comfortable life with a wealthy, but controlling, husband and their two children while Gennifer is an Olympic athlete. Both are drawn back to each other despite the many complications which stand in their way. ‘After years of heartbreak, missed chances and misunderstandings, will they finally get a second chance at first love?’ asks the blurb. Lots of pre-publication brouhaha around this one.
Set in Oxfordshire at the turn of the nineteenth century, Nell Stevens’s The Original follows Grace Inderwick whose cousin returns after years presumed lost at sea provoking a family rift between those who claim he’s an imposter and Grace’s aunt, convinced her son has come home. An unwanted guest in her aunt and uncle’s once grand household, Grace must decide what she believes. ‘Deftly plotted and shimmering with Nell Stevens’s distinctive intelligence, style and wit, THE ORIGINAL is a novel about the value of authenticity in art and in love, and what it means to be a true original’ says the blurb of a novel much lauded by the likes of Olivia Laing, Claire Fuller and Jessie Burton.
That’s it for June’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…
Thank you for the article, Susan Osborne.
You’re welcome.
Thirst Trap appeals the most to me – I’ll look forward to your review!
I enjoyed that one more than I’d expected. Yet another example of Irish talent!
Very keen to invest in The Benefactors. I find Wendy Erskine’s voice to be a relief in this world where far too much attention is paid to oligarchs and those who can otherwise dominant. I pre-ordered this one, so should be receiving it soon.
A relief, indeed. I hope you enjoy it, Jennifer. She’s a fine writer.
Quite a few about old friends there… hmmm, I love reading about old friendships but am also rather disappointed by how toxic most of them seem to be.
It’s an attractive theme, isn’t it. Only one toxic version in the three I’ve read here.
Hmmmm, not sure any of these will be quite my cup of tea. I did enjoy Laura Barnett’s Greatest Hits, and the Nell Stevens sounds potentially intriguing.
I’ve just started the Nell Stevens. So far, so good.
The Original appeals the most from this list as I have enjoyed stories in the past (including a real-life case) of people returned from the dead so to speak and claiming their original identity.
Just started it this morning and I’m enjoying it so far.
Very much looking forward to the Benefactors as I’ve loved Erskine’s short stories,.
I had such high expectations I was almost anticipating disappointment but it’s superb, Cathy.
Lots of tempting choices; The Original & the Barnett novels appeal to me the most. Thanks for the roundup — it’s very helpful & always fun to read!
Very happy that you liked it! The Barnett is a treat. I’ve read the first hundred pages of The Original and am enjoying that, too.
Births, Deaths and Marriages and The Benefactors both look very tempting. But I’m probably most interested in the Nell Stevens, having just read a novel by her and finding it very engaging despite rather a lot of structural flaws. She’s not afraid to try something different, that’s for sure and I’ll definitely get hold of a copy of this.
Both the Barnett and the Erskine are excellent. I’m a hundred pages into The Original and I’m enjoying it. I hope she sustains it for the next three hundred!
Thanks for the roundup. Love seems to be a strong theme in this list. Erskine is well known here in Ireland and I still haven’t read her work. Time to start.
You’re welcome! Lots of friendship, too. I’m sure you’d enjoy Erskine. She’s a brilliant writer.
I feel like the titles of these could make a nice poem!
Some do seem to naturally lead on to others!