![]() ![]() The use of three distinct narrative voices is well executed with clues cleverly revealed via the three protagonists and concludes with a major twist that you won’t see coming. And Joe, who is now a world-famous musician, has a hometown residency in a local bar, and is trying to reconnect to his old friends. Helen is the hard-headed former best friend of Kala who is now a journalist and is in town for her father’s impending wedding. There’s the loyal Mush who has always been in Kinlough, working in his mother’s cafe, hiding his mysterious facial scars from the world. The story is told from the point of view of three of Kala’s friends who come back together and delve into the past to try and make sense of Kala’s death. A complicated small-town community is the claustrophobic backdrop to the story which creates a refreshing mixture of family drama and crime thriller. Jumping between the time when the group was in secondary school and the present day, the mystery slowly unravels as we explore the heavy family traumas and broken friendships from the past. Fifteen years later, three of the friends are back in Kinlough and human remains are found in the woods nearby, bringing the past screaming back. Continue reading.Ī group of six friends living in a small Irish seaside town are inseparable until one day, Kala goes missing. In typical Zadie style, the narrative structure and decade leaping require you to pay attention – but you’re heavily rewarded with the sheer breadth of the novel and its vividly painted characters. Affecting and devastating, it’s in stark contrast to the humdrum domestic middle-class Victorian life also explored. The author’s version of Bogle’s backstory provides most of the second half of the book, beginning with his father’s abduction in the 1770s to the Hope Plantation in Jamaica. Real-life cousin and housekeeper to the largely forgotten novelist William Ainsworth, Smith reimagines Eliza Touchet’s mostly unknown life and her fascination with the case and its prime witness, an ageing Black man named Andrew Bogle. The titular fraud in question is the Tichborne Claimant – a butcher who claimed to be an aristocratic heir in an 1873 trial that gripped the country. Zadie Smith’s first foray into historical fiction, The Fraud is based on true events and juxtaposes a portrait of Victorian life and slavery in the Caribbean. Profound on the human condition, utterly gripping and peppered with comedy, everyone should pick it up this winter. It would be remiss to reveal any more, but it’s safe to say Murray’s novel is deserving of every accolade it’s sure to receive. Their mother, Imelda, is reviled by her daughter who thinks she’s vapid – yet her section reveals a life of poverty, violence and lost love – while their father, Dickie, is similarly tortured by both the past and present. The daughter, Cass, is on the brink of university, experiencing all the teenage angst that accompanies the milestone, while her brother, 12-year-old PJ, is coming-to-age in a world of video games and the climate crisis. Set during turbulent months in their claustrophobic town (think floods, droughts and the aftermath of recession), Murray expertly gives us each family member’s perspective of the same events – with flashbacks unravelling an intricate story of betrayal, crime and lust. The Barnes, a once-well-off Irish family, are in the midst of emotional and financial strain. The bookies’ contender for this year’s Booker Prize, Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting is a tour de force of fiction. The varied authorship is reflected in the diverse themes addressed,ranging from an Irish family in turmoiland love in the trenches of the First World War to slavery in the Caribbean, and dating across the political spectrum and dark domestic dramas. This year’s reading pile sees plenty of acclaimed debuts from the likes of Yomi Adegoke, Maud Ventura and Alice Winn, as well as eagerly anticipated titles from acclaimed authors such as Paul Murray, Dolly Alderton, Zadie Smith, Colson Whitehead, Megan Nolan and Jen Beagin. From romance novels to Booker Prize-nominated tomes and laugh-out-loud stories, the mix is as eclectic as ever. ![]() Luckily, the releases for 2023 leave you spoiled for choice. From spooky books for Halloween and immersive historical epics to novels that transport you to warmer climes, the criteria for a good autumn book is simple: you won’t want to put it down. The colder months between October and December offer ample chance to dive into a new tome. ![]() Autumn has arrived, and the cosy season is the perfect excuse to refresh your reading pile and hunker down with a good book (or two). ![]()
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