Madeleine Gray’s Chosen Family follows Nell who, aged twelve, feels a social outcast until a smart, confident new girl arrives at school. ‘From their childhood to their twenties and thirties, Eve and Nell will love each other and hurt each other – through teenage feuds and the chlorine-scented savagery of all-girls’ schools; through long, drunken nights in scruffy share houses; through the highs and lows of coparenting a child together without being romantically involved. But always, despite a mire of unspoken feelings and sexual confusion, they will choose each other. Again, and again. As friends, as lovers, as family’ says the blurb. Gray made a big splash with her debut, Green Dot, which didn’t appeal to me, but I like the sound of this one although that cover is distinctly off-putting.
When her father dies, Agathe returns to France, fifteen years after she left for New York in Elisa Shua Dusapin’s The Old Fire. As she and her voluntarily mute sister sort through their family’s belongings, memories and resentments begin to surface. ‘Tender, melancholic and evocative, The Old Fire is Elisa Shua Dusapin’s most personal and moving novel yet. An exploration of time and memory, of family and belonging, of the unsaid and the unanswered, it is also a graceful and profound exploration of how loss and grief can live alongside life and abundance’ says the blurb promisingly. This one comes from Daunt’s publishing arm whose list is always interesting.
I like the premise of Grace Murray’s Blank Canvas which is set in a small liberal arts college in upstate New York. Charlotte’s announcement that her father has died over the summer vacation at home in Staffordshire elicits sympathy and attention from classmates who’d previously ignored her, particularly Katarina with whom she begins a relationship. As Charlotte continues to mire herself in deceit, her father decides to cross the Atlantic to see his daughter. ‘Introducing an outstanding new voice in literary fiction: a sensual, sharp, and utterly compelling campus novel about grief, reinvention, and the ripple effects of telling lies’ proclaims the blurb.
Catherine Newman’s Wreck follows Rocky and her family, last seen in Sandwich, through one year which follows the death of a former classmate in a random accident. Life goes on much as ever on the surface but Rocky’s certainties about how to deal with disaster have been unsettled and she finds herself wondering if it’s safe to love anyone. ‘Laugh out loud funny and deeply emotional, Wreck follows Rocky and her family through one rollercoaster year as they share the unpredictable, beautiful messiness of life’ promises the blurb. I enjoyed Sandwich but preferred We All Want Impossible Things.
That’s it for January’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…
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Oooh, these look a tasty start to 2026. I’ll follow these up later ….
Always something to look forward to in the book world.
The Charnley and Murray both reserved from the library – the only ones on your list they – so far – seem to be getting.
The Charnley was something of a sentimental choice for me although I enjoyed it enough to review it.
Well, it’s worth a go, anyway …
Looking forward to a few books in January.
1 Dark Joy by Christine Feehan
2 The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Anne Krentz
3 Escape to Nowhere by Veronica Scott
4 Cold Heat by Toni Anderson
Gill
Not ones I’ve come across. Thank you.
I’ll follow those up ASAP – thanks!
I have an ARC of Palaver and started it last night. So far so good!
He’s a fine writer. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
‘small liberal arts college in upstate New York’ – feels like a guarantee of a good read!
I know what you mean. Interesting premise, too.
Palmer sounds good. Loved this: “the chlorine-scented savagery of all-girls’ schools” lol
I’m sure the blurb writer was pleased with that!
The only thing that’s pleased me more was someone on social media referring to Vance as a “racists Care Bear”
I loved Palaver, too. Wreck was enjoyable but a bit superfluous after Sandwich. I’d like to read the Dusapin and now that I know what it’s about and who he is, I’d also go for the Charnley! (Margaret Atwood’s daughter, Jess Gibson, has a speculative short story collection out next year.)
I was so pleased when I spotted a new Bryan Washington. He’s a reliably excellent author. I enjoyed the Charnley although I’m not sure I’d read another. Thanks for letting me know about the Gibson. Being the offspring of such a celebrated, immensely talented author must have its own particular disasdvantages!
I find Elisa Shua Dusapin an interesting writer, so I’ll look out for this. Daunt are so reliable!
They have such an interesting list, don’t they.
Palaver is the most appealing to me. Thanks for the introduction to new books. I am still trying to get to grips with some of the 2025 books. Currently reading Lucy Steed’s The Artist. I see it was named Waterstones Book of the Year. I am really enjoying it. Not too heavy!
You’re welcome, Lucy. Lovely to virtually visit Provence in winter!
A small liberal arts college setting always appeals!
I know what you mean. Lots of brouhaha around that one.