The first batch of July’s paperbacks begins with one I enjoyed much more than I’d expected. When the unnamed narrator of Dominic Amerena’s I Want Everything spots a dead ringer for Australia’s most notorious bestselling novelist who apparently disappeared in the ’70s, he hatches a plan to rescue his own flagging writing career. Tracking her down to a care home, he chooses not to correct a nurse’s assumption that he’s her grandson. He can hardly believe his luck, squashing doubts about the deception which leads him to become Brenda’s confidant, lies piling up until he’s painted himself into a corner. I loved this twisty, entertaining satire about authorship and literary ambition.
I was a big fan of Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut, My Sister the Serial Killer, but somehow missed her second novel. Her third, Cursed Daughters, sees Eniiyi struggling to deal with her family’s insistence that she’s the reincarnation of her aunt thanks to her uncanny resemblance to Monife. Now, having fallen in love, she’s faced with the curse handed down through generations proclaiming that no man will call their house his home. ‘Is she destined to live out the habitual story of love and heartbreak, or can she escape the family curse and the mysterious fate that befell her aunt?’ asks 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.
Caryl Lewis’s Bitter Honey takes the form of eleven letters written to a widow by her bee-keeping author husband to whom she was married for fifty years. Each of the letters examines their long life together eventually revealing a secret that will make Hannah re-evaluate everything. ‘Bitter Honey is a novel which brings three very different women together into a broken Eden and examines how they rebuild it on their own terms’ according to the blurb. I’m far from sure about this one but I rarely seem to come across Welsh novelists.
That’s it for the first batch of July’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.
No more posts from me this week; H and I are about to set off on our annual trip north to see friends, hoping for good weather but not expecting it. Last year’s heatwave spoiled us.
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I hope you have a good trip! Of these, I Want Everything appeals the most.
Thank you! We’re settled into our lovely Airbnb with fabulous views out over the Holme valley. I Want Everything is a treat of a page turner.
I Want Everything is intriguing so it’s going onto my wishlist. I read Bitter Honey for ReadingWalesMonth. It’s not as powerful as her first English language novel Drift but is wonderfully lyrical
Excellent! It has a great premise. I enjoy lyrical writing but it sounds as if I should add Drift to my list, too.
Bad, Bad Girl is one of the best memoirs I have read in a long time. Apart from Roy’s Mother Mary Comes to Me. I was rooting for Roy for the Women’s Prize. I have not read The Correspondent yet, have you? Enjoy the north country. Hope weather is good for you.
Thank you! It’s been kind so far but I’m expecting a shower or two at some stage. I haven’t read the Evans yet but plan to. A blogger pal whose opinion I trust loves it so fingers crossed.
I Want Everything sounds a page-turner! Happy travels, I hope you see some sunshine 🙂
It certainly is, and thank you! No sitting on the terrace admiring the view this evening but it’s not raining either.
Of these, I Want Everything appeals – I love novels about recluses. Have a great trip!
Thank you! Lots of enjoyable twists and turns in I Want Everything.
I join the club with putting I Want Everything on my wish list too!
Hope you have a smooth, restful and enjoyable trip North.
It does seem to be this week’s most popular choice. Thank you! All good so far.
I’ve gone back and forth over I Want Everything, which I think would make an interesting companion to other books I’ve read on the theme of ruthless authors (Yellowface, Last Resort, Idol, etc) but mixed reviews rather put me off. If you enjoyed it, then it’s a definite finger on the scales. I read Kate Sawyer’s previous book (and forget the title now) and whilst the writing was lovely, it all felt a tad nothingy by the end – not enough of a story to really prop the whole construction up. Still, this one could be much better. Have a lovely holiday and see you when you’re back!
Thank you! It’s going beautifully so far. I really enjoy that ‘who owns the story theme’ and I Want Everything uses it well. It has a humdinger of an ending, too. Perhaps I’ll keep the Sawyer on the back burner as an undemanding read, then.
That first cover is a hoot!
So much better than the hardback edition.
Oh dear, I just borrowed Wreck but I should have requested Sandwich? lol This is exactly how one book leads to another and another and….
Always the way!