Ian McEwan and Michael Rosen return with a couple of absolute hits…
Fiction
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan is published in hardback by Jonathan Cape
In 2119, Professor Thomas Metcalfe is obsessed with a poem read aloud in 2014, and recorded seemingly nowhere, by literary great, Francis Blundy, which he’d written for his wife, former academic turned homemaker Vivien. What We Can Know is an astonishing consideration of how the tendrils of the past leak into the present, how it’s recorded and interpreted, and the dangers of believing what we want to believe, about ourselves and the decisions we’ve made. Most fascinating are the snippets of Ian McEwan’s imagined future Britain, largely submerged and transformed into an archipelago, where the youth are dumbfounded by the greed of the Nineties to 2030s and the planet is reeling from nuclear war and climate change. It’s terrifyingly believable, even if Thomas Metcalfe is a rather flat and uncharismatic character to view our mistakes through. Vivien is more bewitching. McEwan cleverly structures the book to reveal her inner workings, while the thoughts he raises around loss – because of Alzheimer’s, infidelity, heedlessness, death and the sheer passing of time – rumble spectacularly throughout.
No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes is published in hardback by Mantle
If there is one thing Natalie Haynes (author of Stone Blind, A Thousand Ships and Pandora’s Jar) knows how to do, it is reposition the classics. And her latest offering, No Friend to This House, raises the bar even more. Described as an “extraordinary reimagining of the myth of Medea”, it takes readers on a journey with new details that feels like they haven’t been explored before. Based on Euripides’ classic tragedy, readers are given a seat alongside Jason and his Argonauts as they set sail in search of the Golden Fleece. From characters on the periphery, whose roles in the larger stories are often overlooked, to the main players, there is no shortage of detail to keep you riveted. In the world of Greek tragedy, Medea is often considered one of the most complex and divisive characters. But Haynes’ No Friend To This House gives readers more to consider about her.
Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Circus
Disorientating, chaotic, oddly moving, deeply sad at times and slightly all over the shop, Will There Ever Be Another You is like being inside a literary washing machine. The words are beautiful, the sentences often stunning, but the structure has spiralled so out of control that the numerous tangents are impossibly tricksy to keep track of. This is, however, part of the point. American poet Patricia Lockwood wrote her latest novel while sick with Covid, and so it reads feverishly, but eloquently, tracing the outlines of a woman’s family trip to Scotland, her husband’s surgery and her own shifting grasp on what’s actually real and important as she attempts recovery during the pandemic. It’s certainly intriguing and races along as you attempt piecing the fragmented story together, but don’t expect a satisfying conclusion. You have to try and enjoy the riddle of it.
The Traitors Circle by Jonathan Freedland is published in hardback by John Murray
Berlin, September 1943. As the course of World War Two begins to turn decisively against Germany, a group of friends meet for a birthday celebration. Among them are army officers, government officials and two countesses – members of the capital’s high society who have long believed that national socialism must be overthrown for the sake of Germany, and hope to bring it about. But among the party is an interloper who will betray these traitors to the Reich. Jonathan Freedland takes this fascinating tale and uses it to paint a portrait of life in the crumbling regime – the fear, the intrigue, the daily suffering – and pay tribute to those who dared to stand up against evil. With a sure but light touch, this reads like a novel, with Freedland’s focus on the very human emotions at the heart of this tragic but important story.
Children’s book of the week
Oh Dear, Look What I Got! by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, is published in hardback by Walker Books
More than 35 years since much-loved bestselling classic We’re Going on a Bear Hunt was first released, Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury have reunited for the first time to bring you Oh Dear, Look What I Got! Have you ever been on a shopping trip where things didn’t quite go to plan? Well, that’s what’s happening here, with Rosen throwing humour, animals and lots of fun into the mix. This read-aloud story uses rhyming words, brilliant illustrations from Oxenbury and includes a response for children to join in with, making it enjoyable for the whole family as you’re guessing what’s going to happen next. If Bear Hunt was one of your favourites to read as a child yourself, or to your kids, then you’re probably going to love this too.
English