Maggie O’Farrell’s sixth novel is an absorbing tale of a family divided
Feminism has dawned, and his newly enlightened wife alarms him by cropping her hair and taking an Open University degree. Meanwhile, the favoured Riordan sibling Monica has moved to the country with a man who has daughters from a previous relationship. Stepmotherhood in a rural setting is an ill fit with her exacting nature. To make things worse, she has lost her own baby in circumstances only her younger sister Aoife has guessed at. Aoife, the prickly rebel
Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell Tinder HB/AB/EB Out February
Maggie O’Farrell is a reliable purveyor of magic. Instructions for a Heatwave, her sixth novel, has all the hallmarks of a classic O’Farrell, but its structural virtuosity is outstandingly impressive. Set amid the
The Friday Gospels by Jenn Ashworth Sceptre HB/EB Out now The Leekes are a family of
Mormons, ruled by domineering matriarch Pauline. With
son Gary due to return home from a two-year missionary programme, Pauline throws herself into a fever of preparations. While her husband Martin dreams of
record-breaking heatwave of 1976, it is a wincingly accurate examination of family dynamics that grips from the start. The Riordans are a family in crisis. The novel starts with Irish matriarch Gretta sweating through a July day like any other – except for the extraordinary heat choking London. Her husband Robert leaves to buy a newspaper, as he has every morning of his adult life – only this time, he doesn’t return. In Robert’s absence, the focus
escaping, daughter Jeannie is hiding a terrible secret, and elder son Julian is reaching the end of his own journey of self-discovery. Jenn Ashworth’s third novel is an unusual, thought- provoking take on religion and family. The plot and the well-developed characters are skilfully woven together into a compelling, layered narrative, and Ashworth’s sensitive handling of religion lends an authentic edge to the Leekes’ world.
“A wincingly accurate examination of family dynamics that grips from the start”
turns to the couple’s three adult children. The eldest, Michael
Francis, is a wage slave in a teaching job, having been plunged into domestic responsibilities far earlier than he envisaged.
The Blind Man’s Garden by Nadeem Aslam Faber HB/EB Out February At the heart of this complex and haunting novel is the story of two foster brothers
who volunteer their medical and engineering skills to the cause of driving American troops from Afghanistan, leaving behind a bewildered family in Pakistan. Nadeem
of the family, has left the family to live in New York. Her undiagnosed dyslexia has informed her life, and she is barely managing to cling to a job (and a relationship) when the call from home comes. The three siblings converge upon the family home in Kilburn, overheated with emotions in the hottest summer Britain has experienced. Something has to give. Where has Robert gone?
While family, neighbours and police theorise, the siblings’ lives unravel. Battles erupt under the
Aslam has been accused of portraying Islam as dangerously reactionary, but his message is best summarised by a comment from one brother under interrogation: “Do you want me to base my opinion of your people on the ones I have met here?” The contrast is the availability of information: the people of Pakistan know only what they are told, and dissent is met by violent oppression from corrupt authorities. JR