In Garrett Carr’s The Boy from the Sea, the discovery of a child in a barrel lined with tinfoil in 1973, enthrals the small coastal town where the Bonnars live. Christine and Ambrose’s two-year-old is put out by the sudden appearance of this baby his parents seem so interested in, refusing to accept him as his brother when they adopt the child. As the boys grow up, Brendan yearns for Declan’s acceptance while Declan seethes at tiniest example of favour from their father towards Brendan. Carr spins a captivating story, peppering his narrative with wryly humorous observations, while exploring themes of family ties, community and financial hardship against the background of an industrialising fishing industry.
Lee Cole’s debut, Groundskeeping, was one of my books of the year back in 2022 raising hopes high for Fulfillment which 
sees two half-brothers returning to their Kentucky home. Emmett finds a job in a vast distribution centre, unloading cargo to be sent out to customers throughout the country, much of it ephemeral tat. Joel has moved into his mother’s home, one step up from a trailer, on a short-term teaching gig, along with his wife, Alice, still drifting from one dream to another rather like Emmett whose latest idea is to become a screenwriter. Both brothers have their own messes to deal with and when Alice and Emmett acknowledge their attraction, things can only get worse. Cole handles the rivalry between the bothers well and there are some very pleasing digs at modern life backed up with strong characterisation, but I found this one less satisfying than his previous novel.
Almost a decade ago I reviewed Adam Haslett’s first novel Imagine Me Gone here, looking forward to his next one but not expecting to wait so long. Mothers and Sons sees Peter overworked in his job as an asylum lawyer, faced with the event he buried for two decades by the case of a young gay man. His mother has drawn a line under their estrangement, throwing her energies into the women’s retreat she established after leaving Peter’s father. ‘But as Peter’s case plunges him further into the fraught memory of his first love and the night of violence that changed his life, he and his mother must confront the secret that tore them apart’ says the blurb setting us up for a nuanced family drama.
Happily married with a daughter, Ethan and Gabe find themselves at opposite ends of the political spectrum in Elizabeth 
That’s it for the first batch of January’s 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. If you’d like to catch up with new fiction, it’s here and here.
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Really liked Tyler’s book although it’s more of a novella in breadth and depth. I haven’t gotten to Carr yet. Harris’s book sounds interesting.
I think the novella length suits Tyler well. Hoping she’ll try another.
I’ve heard great things about Mothers and Sons and have copies of both Fulfillment and The Boy From the Sea. Keen to read all of them!
Oh, that’s encouraging. I’m hoping to pick a copy up early in the year.
I’m tempted by the Tyler, and it will be a pleasant escape to read about June in the depths of January!
Indeed! January does loom a bit, doesn’t it.
oh good, 3 days in June and Mothers and sons for me!
Can definitely vouch for the first and I’m eagerly awaiting the second!
I loved The Boy from the Sea (don’t like the pb cover though). I remember feeling the Ann Tyler wasn’t up to her usual standard. But I’ve quite forgotten why. I remember being slightly underwhelmed by Groundskeeping too – and of course I can’t any longer remember why. I’ve now reserved both the Haslett and the Harris at the library. January could be busy …
I agree about that cover. I sometimes wonder what goes through publishers’ minds when they change a cover so radically. Happily busy, I hope.
Yes, pretty much thanks. Too busy to worry about book covers anyway!
I LOVED The Boy from the Sea but I’m not keen on that cover, either!
It really doesn’t work, does it. Such a shame!
The Tyler will stay on the bookshop tables as far as I’m concerned. She’s not for me I’ve decided
I think the novella length suits her well but there are lots of other temptations out there.
Shared Bed/ Different Dreams is a great tagline for so many books, eh?
Certainly an eye-catching one!