Five new books to read this week
By Prudence Wade, Press Association
Our top book of the week comes from Chloë Ashby…
Fiction
1. Family Friends by Chloe Ashby is published in hardback by Fig Tree. Available now
Two couples go away for a fortnight summer’s holiday in France, but they’re all harbouring a secret that threatens to blow apart their lives. Chloe Ashby’s third book treads a cliche path for summer paperbacks, but in Family Friends she has written an intensely readable, tightly woven book with rich characters. The main characters and their children are believable and relatable, with Ashby making plain their emotional turmoil. It confronts the changing nature of friendships amongst love, family and work, relatable for a generation of Millennials moving into midlife. The subplots are just as compelling and are fast-moving streams alongside the sweeping tide of the main plot. Family Friends is a rollercoaster that can distil a fortnight’s drama into an afternoon, with a realistic ending.
10/10
(Review by Harry Taylor)
2. Venus, Vanishing by Rebecca Birrell is published in hardback by Picador. Available now
In interwar Berlin, Hannah is a young seamstress determined to escape the life mapped out for her and pursue her passion for art in a city bursting with life – but increasingly fraught with peril amidst intense political turmoil. An affair with her patron, the wife of a powerful man, at first brings opportunity but then growing danger which soon consumes Hannah’s world as Germany spirals into darkness. Art historian Rebecca Birrell’s debut novel is a gripping read which asks big questions on the meaning and value of art, particularly in times of great tragedy. But it does so as part of an engrossing, vital tale of love, friendship and betrayal which is bursting with humanity.
9/10
(Review by Ian Parker)
3. Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead is published in hardback by Fleet. Available now
Cool Machine draws to a close the story of Ray Carney, the Harlem furniture salesman and part-time fence of stolen jewels, introduced by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead in two previous books. Cool Machine finds us in Ronald Reagan’s 1980s, with New York changing at pace – and Carney and his associates sometimes struggling to keep up. It’s divided into three novellas of complementary stories, with the question of whether Carney will finally go all in on the crooked life asked and answered in the first. The second story is the strongest, with Carney’s ever-menacing uncle figure Pepper stealing the show. We return to Carney for the third part of the book – with New York a constant presence throughout, which Whitehead brings alive and turns into a character all of its own.
8/10
(Review by Lily Rose)
Non-fiction
4. Knives And Spoons: A Chef’s Story Of Kitchens, Addictions And Mayhem by Alasdair Gill is published in hardback by Macmillan. Available now
A chef’s knife is an extension of their arm: both sharp and delicate, always precise. Spoons are for stirring, tasting and, in Alasdair Gill’s case, his preferred method of drug use since his teens. Skip the glossary – an amuse-bouche that did little to awaken my palate – and dive straight into this tasting menu of bleak, savage and yet wonderfully funny and tender tales of grief, belonging and finding a reason to live. This is a memoir you want to savour, but is so compelling you can’t help but gobble down. It is seasoned with glimpses of Gill’s famous parents: his former home secretary mother is the barely mentioned but vital foundation, like a solid soffritto base, while his food-writing father is the chilli that excites the tongue but, in his absence, leaves everything tasting bland. By the final page, what lingers isn’t the bitterness of the darkest moments, but the warmth and satisfaction of feeling replete.
9/10
(Review by Amy Crowther)
Children’s book of the week
5. The Kingdom Of Tigers by Felicity Yeoh, illustrated by Megan Snyders, is published in paperback by Kumusha Books. Available now
This is a beautifully illustrated book for young children with a message about endangered tigers, and will appeal to any parent who values the importance of reading from an early age. A harimau tiger and her cub want to live peacefully in the jungle, but their lives are threatened by deforestation. Each tree they sleep in is cut down, forcing animals to flee the bulldozers. The cub, Hari, is separated from his mother, but he finds other animals trying to escape. They cross valleys, mountains and streams until they find Hari’s mother waiting for him in the Kingdom of Tigers, where the jungle is protected and they can live without fear. The author is from Malaysia, where the book is based, and said she wanted to share with young people the danger facing Malayan tigers. Her story is brought to life by the colourful illustrations by Megan Snyders.
7/10
(Review by Alan Jones)
BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 18th
HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. Duskbound by Bree Grenwich & Parker Lennox
2. To Flame a Wild Flower by Sarah A. Parker
3. Hide and Seek by Chris Carter
4. Getting Away With Murder by Shari Lapena
5. Yesteryear by Caro ClaireBurke
6. May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry
7. Land by Maggie O’Farrell
8. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
9. The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
10. The Exquisite Torment Of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley
(Compiled by Waterstones)
HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)
1. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
2. Push The Wall by Frank Miller
3. The Land And Its People by David Sedaris
4. Regime Change by Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan
5. The Odyssey by Homer
6. BBQ by Jamie Oliver
7. An Expert Witness by Professor Dame Sue Black
8. The Book Of Birds by Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris
9. Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins & Sawyer Robbins
10. Afterthoughts by Richard Ayoade
(Compiled by Waterstones)
AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)
1. It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell
2. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
3. The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson
4. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
5. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
6. The Weekend by T.M. Logan
7. Odyssey by Stephen Fry
8. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
9. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
10. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
(Compiled by Audible)
