March’s second paperback preview begins with one from an author I’ve long admired, now a Nobel Prize winner. Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Theft is a tale of family and obligation set in postcolonial Zanzibar, now a tourist destination thanks to its beautiful archipelago. When his mother and stepfather take young Badar into their home, Karim is puzzled by his ambiguous position in the household, offering him somewhere to stay and finding him a job in a hotel when he’s falsely accused of stealing. When things sour between them, what once had seemed a loving friendship is exposed as a relationship based on patronage. From its title onwards, Theft is a subtle, many-layered piece of fiction written with the same delicate understatement I remember from By the Sea.
Many years ago, when I was a reviews editor, I commissioned Andrey Kurkov to write for me. He was a delight to deal with. I’ve often thought of him over the last four years. In The Stolen Heart, the second instalment of his Kyiv Mysteries series, set in the early twentieth-century, Samson Kolechko has been tasked with investigating the peculiar offence of selling the meat of one’s own pig. Perplexed he may be, but he has no choice but to follow the orders of the secret police. Soon more pressing crimes are demanding his attention, not least the abduction of his fiancée.
There have been many novels written about the AIDS pandemic but Anthony Passeron’s autofiction, Sleeping
Children, is the first French one I’ve come across. In 1981, a Parisian doctor is presented with a case of what will come to be known as HIV/AIDS while in rural France another epidemic grips a small village as young people succumb to heroin addiction, one of whom is Passeron’s uncle. These two narratives become interwoven as more is learnt about this frightening new virus. ‘Sleeping Children is a moving and eye-opening book about shame and the slow poisoning of a family by the secrets it keeps. Exploring the stories of the heroic few who fought for a cure for AIDs and for justice for a community abandoned, it is a radical vision of a history reshaped, retold and remembered’ says the blurb of a book which sounds well worth investigating.
Australian writer Emily Maguire’s Rapture is a step or two outside my usual reading territory, but I enjoyed her, entirely different, An Isolated Incident back in 2018. Set in the nineth century, it follows Agnes who disguises herself as a man so that she can enter Fulda monastery in Mainz. As John the Englishman, she becomes a revered scholar then a celebrated teacher in Rome where she dazzles the Church with her knowledge before finding herself at the heart of political intrigue until someone from her past arrives. Maguire’s novel was much praised on publication including by Victoria MacKenzie, author of the excellent For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain.
I never got around to reading André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name but I like the sound of Room on the Seawhich sees a hundred people awaiting jury selection in a scorching New York summer. A flirtation begins between two of them. Coffees in Manhattan cafes and gallery trips to Chelsea become something more serious as Paul and Catherine escape into a fantasy of an Italian holiday together knowing that if they allow their crush to develop into a full-blown affair both their lives will be upended.
That’s it for March. 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 part one it’s here. New fiction is here and here.
I’ve never read any Kurkov and am not much of a crime reader, but oddly the one that appeals most here is The Stolen Heart! Rapture also looks very interesting, although I’d be worried about the execution.
Oh, Rapture sounds right up my street! Though I agree with Elle that I can see potential pitfalls. I’m also intrigued by a French take on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
I think the Passeron will be a tough read, particularly as it’s based on his uncle’s experiences. I may well try Rapture. It’s certainly very different from her previous novel!
Great selection Susan. I keep meaning to get to Truth since it has been getting great reviews. I read Aciman’s memoir set in Rome last year and really enjoyed it. Not sure about this recent one. It’s been getting mixed reviews.
Aciman & Gurnah have both been on my list of writers to try for quite some time. Theft and Room on the Sea seem are now on my TBR as good starting points!
I hesitated with Gurnah because I thought his work seemed intimdating, but I found Theft very engaging right from the start and still remember the story months later. (The Kyiv mysteries sound good!)
I really like Kurkov although I’ve fallen a bit behind with him, so I’m delighted to hear of your experience with him! Theft is definitely on my list too.
A very international selection this month! I’ve put Theft in my wishlist – sounds like an author I should have read, and Zanzibar is a tempting destination…
I read and loved Grey Bees and have another by Kurkov waiting on mount TBR. I hadn’t come across the mysteries but they sound right up my alley. Zanzibar is a setting I certainly want to explore in fiction, especially after some recent reading (only mentions and references) in the context of trade and immigrant traders in the 18 or perhaps 19th century. And Rapture stands out for me as well. A very intriguing set of options that I’m glad to come to after so long!
You’re welcome, Mallika. Gurnah’s novels are the only ones I’ve read set in Zanzibar. They might complement your recent reading well. Fingers crossed for Rapture!
I’ve never read any Kurkov and am not much of a crime reader, but oddly the one that appeals most here is The Stolen Heart! Rapture also looks very interesting, although I’d be worried about the execution.
I know what you mean about Rapture but I think I might give it a try.
The premise is very promising.
Oh, Rapture sounds right up my street! Though I agree with Elle that I can see potential pitfalls. I’m also intrigued by a French take on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
I think the Passeron will be a tough read, particularly as it’s based on his uncle’s experiences. I may well try Rapture. It’s certainly very different from her previous novel!
Great selection Susan. I keep meaning to get to Truth since it has been getting great reviews. I read Aciman’s memoir set in Rome last year and really enjoyed it. Not sure about this recent one. It’s been getting mixed reviews.
Thanks, Lucy. I’m not expecting much from the Aciman but I do like that setup.
Gurnah and Kurkov for me, especially the first as I want to up my reading of authors from Africa this year.
Gurnah’s such a great writer. I couldn’t have been more pleased when he was awarded the Nobel.
I’ve only read Paradise, but it was so interesting and such a great novel to read.
He’s the best writer on colonialism and exile I’ve read.
Aciman & Gurnah have both been on my list of writers to try for quite some time. Theft and Room on the Sea seem are now on my TBR as good starting points!
Good news, and I can vouch for the Gurnah!
I hesitated with Gurnah because I thought his work seemed intimdating, but I found Theft very engaging right from the start and still remember the story months later. (The Kyiv mysteries sound good!)
I’m glad you decided to read Theft. Gurnah has a way of humanising difficult themes, I think.
These are all new to me but Sleeping Children and Room on the Sea both really appeal
Particularly keen to read the Passeron although I suspect it will be harrowing.
Stolen Heart and Sleeping Children sound especially interesting. Good work!
Thank you!
I really like Kurkov although I’ve fallen a bit behind with him, so I’m delighted to hear of your experience with him! Theft is definitely on my list too.
Such a lovely man. I hope you enjoy The Stolen Heart when you get to it.
A very international selection this month! I’ve put Theft in my wishlist – sounds like an author I should have read, and Zanzibar is a tempting destination…
Good choice! I think you’ll enjoy that.
I read and loved Grey Bees and have another by Kurkov waiting on mount TBR. I hadn’t come across the mysteries but they sound right up my alley. Zanzibar is a setting I certainly want to explore in fiction, especially after some recent reading (only mentions and references) in the context of trade and immigrant traders in the 18 or perhaps 19th century. And Rapture stands out for me as well. A very intriguing set of options that I’m glad to come to after so long!
You’re welcome, Mallika. Gurnah’s novels are the only ones I’ve read set in Zanzibar. They might complement your recent reading well. Fingers crossed for Rapture!
I loved Theft, but I’ve managed not to read anything else by him since!
Highly recommend By the Sea which is quite an early one. He captures exile so well.
That’s the one I really want to read!
It made such an impression on me.! Hope you enjoy it when you get to it.