FICTION REVIEWS READERS’ CHOICES


Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Michael Joseph PB/EB Out now


Lou is happy


leading an ordinary life,


whereas


Will lived an extraordinary life before his accident. These two come together and forge a connection beyond their expectations.


Room by Emma Donoghue Picador PB/EB/AB Out now


Through the eyes of a five- year-old boy held captive with


his mother, we glimpse the pair’s claustrophobia, as well as their unconditional love.


Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes Myriad PB/EB Out now Catherine’s new man is a catch – all her friends agree. But in private


he is controlling and cruel, reducing her to a shadow of her former self. She escapes, fearing for her life – but will he find her? Thrilling.


Ten-strong book group Reading Between the Wines are based in Buckinghamshire.


draining of the US economy at home, whilst preparing a pitch for a contract on King Abdullah’s Economic City. Clay confronts his own role in outsourcing jobs to China, which has resulted in him, and countless other Americans, being made redundant. It’s a scary new world for Alan, but Eggers handles themes of globalisation, austerity and personal failure with humanity and eloquence. LP


Schroder by Amity Gaige Faber HB/EB Out March


As a schoolboy, immigrant Erik Schroder is enraptured with the New England ideal,


and adopts the persona of all-American Eric Kennedy, leaving his past behind. He builds a life with his wife and beloved daughter Meadow but, with a lie at its foundation, the marriage begins to erode. Eric, in desperation, takes to the road with his daughter, and readers will empathise when he is accused of kidnapping her. Writing his ‘apology’ while incarcerated, Eric explores issues of identity and perception through lyrical prose. A poignant, heartbreaking novel.


AM, G


The Taste of Apple Seeds by Katharina Hagena Atlantic PB/EB Out now This novel reminds us that the past can comfort or unsettle, but it rarely leaves us


indifferent. Iris unexpectedly 46 welovethisbook.com


inherits the family home and the ‘wounds which come with it’. She stays for a week, ostensibly to sort out the estate, but she swims in the past. Her retelling focuses on her teenage cousin’s death, and how different people coped in different ways. This story is told through the senses, especially taste and smell: the past smells as much as the present, of ‘apple and cold stone’. Lyrical and captivating.


JH


Petite Mort by Beatrice Hitchman Serpent’s Tail HB/EB Out March This simmering psychodrama from Beatrice Hitchman begins in Paris in the early


days of silent cinema, which obscures the novel’s macabre intent until its devastating final act. Sweeping in scope, its watertight plot, erotic undertones and fabulous characters (in particular the ingénue seamstress Adele) are all central in a snapshot narrative that mirrors the illusion and endeavour inherent to the birth of the silver screen. Some of its plot turns can be a little anomalous, but if this isn’t taken too seriously, it is an extremely likeable caper.


BL


The Engagement by Chloe Hooper Jonathan Cape HB/EB Out now Liese has decided to leave Australia when a weekend engagement


makes her think twice. Once


she accepts, she realises that she doesn’t know the mysterious Alexander, who is accompanying her, nearly as well as she thought. A combination of the stark beauty of the landscape, the plush but fusty house and the strange behaviour of Alexander leaves Liese unsure what to believe. Written in the first person, this is a disturbing, unnerving look into the damaged psyches of two unusual characters, painting a sad portrait of a lonely man and of a scared girl who is out of her depth. Cleverly crafted, the book questions how well we know ourselves – or anyone else. An intriguing, gripping read with a twist in the tail.


RS


The First Book of Calamity Leek by Paula Lichtarowicz Hutchinson HB/EB Out February An exciting and inventive debut novel narrated by eponymous heroine Calamity Leek,


a naïve young girl who describes the strange world inhabited by herself and her 12 ‘sisters’ who are raised by their ‘Aunty’ according to a strict book of rules and kept ‘safe’ behind an impenetrable wall. Themes of obsession, revenge, sexual innocence and parental love create an intriguing story that builds to a delicious ending with a disturbing twist. Paula Lichtarowicz delivers great characters; the prose section written in Calamity’s voice works particularly well. A captivating tale.


LG


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