books reviews


EYES GUTS THROAT BONES Moïra Fowley (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £16.99)


la brings those stories together with new stories and pieces published elsewhere.


Lest ye ever be in doubt about the power of language, take a spin through Eyes Guts Throat Bones, Moïra Fowley’s visceral collec- tion of short stories “about (queer, female) bodies and the end of the world”. Fowley has an astonish- ing knack for delivering a knock- out blow with her choice of words (“Her smile was like a slice of light- ning”) and her stories are delivered with economy and imagination. Some have apparently been dredged from a place of random whimsy (the collection is kicked off with a kind of a grisly, death-march reimagination of Hansel And Gre- tel); others come from more ob- viously relatable origins, such as that focussing on a queer couple in smalltown Ireland who somehow summon natural disasters with their passion, in defiance of the grimaces of their conservative neighbours. This latter tale provides Fowley with a vast canvas for her colour- ful imagination: “The first time we kissed it rained flowers for a week.” The stories that make up this


fine collection are by turns witty, shocking and unsettling, coming from a place of fear for the future, of bruised trauma at growing up queer in an unwelcoming world, but all streaked through with beauty and moments of humour. Powerful stuff.


HUGH RUSSELL


LADIES’ LUNCH AND OTHER STORIES Lore Segal (Sort Of, £9.99)


Alongside the ladies’ tales, we hear of divorce, of the author’s bed- room with its view of the Empire State Building, and of a rabbi bring- ing together Jewish and gentile Aus- trians. Finally, we are reunited with the lunching ladies in a delightful piece about their pandemic meeting over Zoom. Amidst repeatedly for- getting what they’re trying to say, a pleading interjection – “Oh, let us not stop talking” – captures the essence of Segal’s collection.


Manhattanite friends Ruth, Bridget, Farah, Lotte and Bessie meet monthly, reflecting on joy- ous memories and navigating the humorous side of ageing. Their friendship group is founded upon stories, even if most don’t add up. They’re the ultimate girl gang, dis- approving of the only husband left alive because he is “a man of large property and the wrong politics”, and plotting to save Lotte from the care home.


EVE DAVIES


REACH FOR THE STARS Michael Cragg (Nine Eight, £25)


THE SCENT OF FLOWERS AT NIGHT Leïla Slimani (Coronet, £14.99)


forts can become gruelling. Help is at hand with the Touring And Mental Health manual, that weighs in at a hefty 625 pages and covers absolutely everything you might need to know on the topic. To wit: relationships, crisis man- agement, stress, addiction, vocal health, dealing with the media, back problems, sleep, fame and nutrition, with valuable insight from a crack team of health professionals as well as artists.


The world of a writer can be a murky and lonely one. In revealing your characters, you can also reveal part of yourself. This is precisely what Leïla Slimani explores in her reflective memoir The Scent Of Flowers At Night.


All rise for Michael Cragg’s exhaus- tive and deliciously gossipy history of pop from that hallowed 1996- 2006 era, when S Club didn’t stop moving and five boundary-busting wannabes were determined to spice up our lives. Told via an oral history format reminiscent of Daisy Jones & The Six, you’ll be impressed by the sheer number of stars Cragg has roped into dishing the dirt on their assent to the top of the charts. And what a lot of tea there is spill, too. From the lads from 5ive getting into fisticuffs, to the reason why Sugababes’ members had such a short shelf life, to the rightfully bitter and blessedly NDA-free Ste- ve Brookstein ratting out the sala- cious and often sickening behind- the-scenes machinations at The X Factor.


Having agreed to be locked into an art museum for the night, Slim- ani finds herself alone in the Punta Della Dogana museum in Venice. Initially sceptical about the endeav- our (not being an art historian, or even an avid art lover), Slimani is won over by the time to reflect and the provocations of the artwork that allow her to rediscover parts of her- self that she has been hiding away. Heartwarming and sad, if a little rushed at points, Slimani’s writing style – supported by the transla- tion efforts of Sam Taylor – is ac- cessible and endearing. Frank and honest about her lack of artistic understanding, the book is humor- ous and affirming for those who don’t see the benefits of looking at modern art. It also offers an inter- esting perspective, however, on the place of all art in our lives, and the notion that – given enough space and reflection – the offerings of all art can allow us to uncover a bit of ourselves.


HARI BERROW


TOURING AND MENTAL HEALTH: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY MANUAL Edited by Tamsin Embleton (Omnibus, £40)


The manual’s editor Tamsin Embleton spent a decade working in the live music arena before qual- ifying as an attachment-based psy- choanalytic psychotherapist, so is fully aware of the pitfalls. Packing Touring And Mental Health into your flight case before embarking on a tour is not only highly recom- mended, but should be pretty damn essential for both artists and man- agement.


DAVID NOBAKHT


AN UNLASTING HOME Mai Al-Nakib (Saqi, £14.99)


I have always been fascinated by stories told by older generations – working in a café, I hear my fair share of them – and the back cover of Lore Segal’s Ladies’ Lunch calls it “five old friends meeting to muse on life after 90.” First published in the New Yorker in 2017, this novel-


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While some stories will already be familiar to diehard fans, the hon- est reflections on the day-to-day re- ality of what it takes to be a pop star should come as a sobering surprise to most. Sure to become the defini- tive account of turn-of-the-millenni- um pop, it’s a must read for anyone who spent hours learning the steps to Tragedy or still gets misty-eyed over the demise of Woolworths. As Blue would say, I rest my case.


RACHEL REES


Thirty years ago next month, Depe- che Mode opened their Devotional tour, later described as the “most debauched ever” and the equivalent of “taking an asylum on the road”. Come 2023, the band’s surviving members are in far better shape than in 1993, but even without the dis- tractions of drugs and debauchery, being on the road for months on end away from family and home com-


A mesmerising and poignant saga forms the basis of this debut novel from Mai Al-Nakib. Set predom- inantly in Kuwait but journeying through America, India and Iraq, the story follows four generations of women with the focus on protag- onist Sara, a Kuwait University phi- losophy professor awaiting trial for blasphemy. Weaved throughout the narrative, we learn about the wom- en who have shaped and influenced Sara during her life – grandmothers Lulwa and Yasmine, her mother Noura and carer Maria. As the fine lines between free- dom, religion and the turbulent political landscape showcase the effects of this on their individual lives, the inclusion of historical events through multiple strands guides the reader, providing a link to understand the different environ- ments each character is faced with and some way to explain the chang- es that have impacted the journeys each member of the family have undertaken. A spellbinding book, offering a deep and insightful perspective on the complicated lives of each char- acter. This thought provoking and intense drama is poetically written and really evokes a sense of place which provides an immersive reading experience. Deep research evidently went into An Unlasting Home, but it’s a crafted skill to be able to bring the story to life with such compassion.


RHIANON HOLLEY


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