This preview highlights titles to be published in January
01
paints a portrait of a man grappling with the lifelong disillusionments of exile—and the uniquely complicated identity of the Windrush generation.
story about two young New Yorkers learning who they are and what they stand for in a divided world, from the author of the short story collection Objects of Desire, a finalist for the PEN/Robert W Bingham Prize, named a “5 Under 35” honouree by the National Book Foundation in 2022.
Artem Chekh,
Richard Price Lazarus Man Corsair, 16th, £22, hb, 9781472159915 A “razor-sharp” anatomy of an ever-changing Harlem from the author of Clockers and writer on “The Wire”, Price creates intertwining portraits of a group of characters whose lives are perma- nently impacted by the 2008 collapse of a five- storey tenement building.
Devika Rege Quarterlife Dialogue Books, 23rd, £22, hb, 9780349705132
Début Naren, a jaded Wall Street
consultant, is lured back to Mumbai when the Bharat Party wins a divisive election. With him is Amanda, eager to escape New England. Meanwhile, Naren’s brother Rohit sets out to explore his roots in the country’s heartland, where he befriends Hindu nation- alists. This “innovative” début is as much a social and philosophical inquiry as a political bildungsro- man, says Dialogue.
Lisa Sandlin Sweet Vidalia Abacus, 16th, £20, hb, 9780349147017 For readers of Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler, a “life-affirming” novel about marriage, friend- ship and the powerful dignity of a woman forced to rebuild her life after her husband’s death and the discovery of a lie, in 1960s Texas. Sandlin has written four story collections and four novels, and her noir mystery The Do-Right won both the Shamus Award and the Hammett Prize.
Clare Sestanovich Ask Me Again Picador, 23rd, £14.99, tpb, 9781529053593
Début A “smart, funny” platonic love
TheBookseller.com
Olena Jennings, Oksana Rosenblum (trans) Rock, Paper, Grenade Seven Stories Press UK, 30th, £14.99, pbo, 9781911710158 The Ukrainian writer and military serviceman’s novel was the winner of the 2021 BBC News Ukraine Book of the Year Award and is a “gritty” bildungsroman depicting life in Ukraine and the post-Soviet world. A “lilting picaresque” of a life lived in the shadow of someone else’s war, says Seven Stories.
Angelo Tijssens, Michele Hutchison (trans) The Edges Daunt Originals, 30th, £9.99, pbo, 9781917092029
Début This “clear-eyed” examination of
class, masculinity and sexuality is the début novel from the Dutch co-writer of award- winning feature films “Girl” and “Close”. One for readers of Édouard Louis and Michael Magee, says Daunt.
James Yorkston Tommy the Bruce Oldcastle Books, 25th, £10.99, pbo, 9780857305947
An “unsettling” noir set in the remote Scottish Highlands, perfect for fans of Close to Home by Michael Magee, from the author of The Book of the Gaels.
A L Kennedy Alive in the Merciful Country Saraband, 16th, £12.99, pbo, 9781916812284 From a Costa Book of the Year winner, Booker-longlisted author of Serious Sweet and twice Granta-selected Best Young British novel- ist comes a “searing” portrayal of trauma, police abuse and the power of hope, with a dark mystery at its heart.
Andrew Ridker Hope Farrago, 30th, £10.99, pbo, 9780715655641 From the author of The Altruists, a “darkly comedic” novel about a seemingly perfect family in crisis in Brookline, Massachusetts, for fans of Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Jonathan Franzen.
Joanne Rush Dancing on Knives Honno Welsh Women’s Press, 30th, £9.99, pbo, 9781916821125
Début Longlisted for the Mslexia
Novel Award 2024, this
Literary short stories
“twisty, timely” tale of love and trauma recalls the turbulent history of Eastern Europe.
of The Night Brother and The Fates.
Uche Okonkwo A Kind of Madness Verve Books, 28th, £12.99, pbo, 9780857309013
Début An “unflinching” collection of
stories set in Nigeria that explores community expectations, familial strife and the struggle for survival. One of them has been shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing.
Editor’s Choice
Commercial Roisín O’Donnell
Nesting Simon & Schuster Adult Fiction, 30th, £16.99, hb, 9781398528529
Début
I was gripped by this emotional story of a Dublin woman leaving an abusive
Can Xue, Karen Gernant (trans), Chen Zeping (trans) Mother River Open Letter, 21st, £16.99, pbo, 9781960385314 A “surreal, provocative” collection of 13 stories from the Chinese author of the novels The Last Lover, winner of the 2015 Best Translated Book Award, and Frontier, as well as the collection Vertical Motion.
Crime & thriller Sam Blake
Neil Campbell Saying Dirty Things in Regional Accents Salt, 15th, £9.99, pbo, 9781784633332 The author of Zero Hours gives voice to the extraor- dinary men and women of Manchester in this collection that aims to capture, in print, how people really talk. Think James Kelman and Irvine Welsh, but Mancunian, says Salt.
Rosie Garland Your Sons and Your Daughters are Beyond Fly on the Wall Press, 17th, £11.99, pbo, 9781915789365 Collection of stories of queerness, otherness and magic, from the author
The Killing Sense Corvus, 2nd, £14.99, tpb, 9781805460152 From the author of Keep Your Eyes On Me and Remember My Name, shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times, comes a “twisty” thriller about a single mum who has escaped an abusive marriage and wins a trip to Paris, but arrives to discover a killer is on the loose.
marriage with her two young daughters in tow. Urgent and intense, it captures what it means to live in fear of your partner, and the many hurdles someone fleeing domestic abuse faces, from financial difficulties and a broken housing system to emotional manipulation and the uncer- tainties of the legal system —all while maintaining stability for the children. O’Donnell won the prize for Short Story of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards in 2018.
Editor’s Choice
SFF Nnedi Okorafor
Death of the Author Gollancz, 16th, £20, hb, 9781399622950
Christopher Bollen Havoc Te Borough Press, 2nd, £16.99, hb, 9780008730451 Death and deception unfold in a Luxor hotel in this “modern-day The Talented Mr Ripley” from the author of A Beautiful Crime, featuring an
Sold in a seven-figure US deal, this is the story of a disabled Nigerian American who writes a sci-fi novel that becomes a global sensation, at a cost. Interspersed with her struggles of family, identity, mind and body are chapters of her novel, which imagines a post-human future. Examining the author- reader relationship, the price of fame, and debates around AI and robotics, this is an artful, involving meta- drama for fans of Gabrielle Zevin. Okorafor’s many prizes include the Hugo, Locus and World Fantasy Award. She has multiple books being adapted for screen.
23
© Barry Cronin
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
