With the New Year comes a wave of new books - in hardback and paperback. At our monthly proofs & pints session, we decide which new books to rave about. See what you think.
Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth
Part mystery, part darkly comic commentary on new motherhood, Normal Women is all about finding ‘a tribe’ (and actually liking them) and the value of the paid, and unpaid, work women are expected to do. Disclaimer: this is the opposite of a cosy winter read.
My Friends by Hisham Matar
A beautifully written glimpse into a friendship forged in - and in reaction to - Gaddafi’s regime, the shooting at the Libyan embassy and the chaos following the revolution.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati (paperback)
This debut novelist slots seamlessly into the literary world of Greek mythology that puts women front and centre - and she does it in style. So finely written. The pages ooze gold, and sometimes red.
The New Life by Tom Crewe (paperback)
A richly drawn and erotically charged novel about a group of radical Victorians experimenting with new ways of living (and loving) on the cusp of a new century. Opening with perhaps the steamiest train scene in fiction.
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
Ancient Greece but not as we’ve come to know it in the book world. There’s no myth or magic, just soldiers and prisoners performing classic poetry.
COMING OUT SOON
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid - available from 30th Jan
From the author of Such A Fun Age, this is a satire set on an American campus exploring money, desire, privilege and friendship. A slower burn than her debut but just as explosive.
Piglet by Lottie Hazell - available from 25th Jan
With a childhood nickname she can’t shake, Piglet, is getting married to Kit in thirteen days, but he reveals a secret to her which will crack the façade of domestic bliss she has been so desperate to create. What will it do to her to ignore the truth? You will be hard pressed to find a likeable character but it is a thought provoking debut.
