Fiction

1. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Caro Claire Burke manages to spin your emotions, so you go from abject horror at tradwife influencer Natalie’s beliefs, to pitying her, to grudgingly agreeing with her (on certain things) and then going right back to horror – it’s like being in a highly orchestrated washing machine. Yesteryear is Natalie’s all-American ranch, from which she pops out babies and Instagram videos with apparent aplomb. But then she wakes up in the late 1880s, and the lifestyle she’s idealised for millions on social media is suddenly very real and very cold, and while she’s surrounded by her family, they aren’t her actual one, are they? Yesteryear deftly blends the alarming (Natalie leaving her baby in the car when she goes to the supermarket), with the mundane (putting up with her useless, manosphere-obsessed husband) and a deeply woven anger, at the world and other women. A spectacularly dark exploration of what some people will go through to project perfection, and how the rest of us will avidly watch.

credits: PA

2. My Year In Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy

My Year In Paris With Gertrude Stein heralds the return of Booker-shortlisted author Deborah Levy with another masterpiece of observation and introspection. An anonymous student is in Paris researching writer Gertrude Stein, and is experiencing the fullness of the city with her cosmopolitan friends: Eva with the aquamarine eyes, and libertine financier, Fanny. Against the turmoil of the 21st century, where wars and political turmoil are present with every scroll, Levy juxtaposes Stein’s interactions with Picasso and Matisse, crafting Stein’s biography as Fanny cooks raclette and mourns the results of the 2024 American elections, and Eva searches for her missing cat. Beneath it all, as the narrator peels back the layers from the life and times of the avant-garde icon, she holds a mirror up to our own existence, asking us to question what it means to be modern and, above all, what it means to be ourself.

credits: PA

3. Transcription by Ben Lerner

In his latest novella Transcription, Ben Lerner explores our relationships with both humans and technology. In doing so, he has crafted a thought-provoking, emotional and challenging story that consumes the reader. Transcription is a story in three parts, beginning as the narrator conducts a final interview with his ageing mentor, Thomas, but is beset by the major issue of his phone – his only method of recording – becoming unusable. He doesn’t come clean to Thomas, leading to an awkward scenario, even more so when his interview is lauded as a huge success during the second part of the story. Finally, the third part deals with issues of fatherhood, eating disorders and a moving examination of relationships on all levels. It’s like nothing you’ll have read before, and is hard to forget once completed.

Non-fiction

credits: PA

4. London Falling: A Mysterious Death In A Gilded City And A Family’s Search For Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe

Far removed from the foggy East End alleys that traditionally provide the capital’s true crime staple, Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling peels back the layers on a contemporary underworld that proves every bit as chilling. Keefe describes the chain of events that plunged Zac Brettler, a teenager from a comfortable home in Maida Vale, into a fantastical web of greed and deceit that ultimately led to him plunging to his death from a plush Thames-side apartment. As in his previous and equally gripping Say Nothing, about the Northern Ireland Troubles, Keefe draws on a variety of sources to construct a compelling account of the unfolding tragedy and, in particular Brettler’s final, fateful night. Keefe clinically dissects the shady forces linked to his demise and rigorously questions the reluctant conclusions of those charged with investigating his death. In doing so, Keefe offers a gripping yet deeply unsettling account of a city increasingly held hostage by the cult of tyrannical excess.

Children’s book of the week

credits: PA

5. Super Uma! by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Nakul P.

Lawyer-turned-children’s author Rashmi Sirdeshpande’s latest offering is an action packed superhero tale, following Uma with her trusty unicorn sidekick and her Nani on hand for extra help. Uma spends her time going on rescue missions and spreading joy in her home town, Sparkleopolis, while finding time to snack on the occasional samosa from Nani. When the normally bright and vibrant Sparkleopolis starts draining colour and shine, Uma – along with Chip the unicorn and Nani – set out to find out who could be to blame, and work out how to get the city back to normal. It’s a fun and imaginative romp and kids will love the bright illustrations, but ultimately the story is a bit twee and predictable.