The Proof of My Innocence
by Jonathan Coe
Europa Editions
This is a book of many parts - humorous, (and not so) political critique, wry assessment of the state of literature, and yes, there's a murder mystery with three delightful detectives.
Coe has written many wonderful books - this is different from them all, but equally enjoyable and educational.
If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org
by Lauren Wolk
Dutton Books for Young Readers/PRH
Lauren Wolk's books are aimed at middle grade readers and up. I confess I'm an "up". I've loved her writing since Wolf Hollow and never want to miss a book.
She never writes down to her audience and leaves all readers with a great deal to think about, while telling an engaging tale with relateable characters. This has lots about solitude, art, loss, and friendships, among other parts of life.
If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org
Run For the Hills
by Kevin Wilson
Ecco/HarperCollins
Wilson creates characters that you can't help but believe in and care about. They are usually somewhat off the norm, but are so lovingly presented that you understand where they're coming from. (I want a sequel because I want to know where these marvelous people are in five/ten/twenty years time.)
This might be his most accessible, but I also loved Nothing to See Here. Don't miss these wonderful, ultimately very hopeful stories.
If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org
by Michael Crummey
Vintage/PRH
A beautiful, horrible, claustrophobic, engrossing almost-fairy tale of a small Newfoundland coastal town and the strange, tortured, corrupt and controlling people who move everyone in it. The language is beautiful and hypnotic, keeping you hoping for some form of redemption.
Perhaps winning this year's Dublin Prize will need to be that.
If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org
by Carys Davies
Scribner/S&S
In the late 1700s, the Scottish Clearances began. The landowners, deciding it was cheaper to keep sheep on their land than farmers, forcibly evicted the people. Davies imagines a naive clergyman sent to a northern island to remove a last straggler. This is the story of Ivar and John, learning to communicate and to understand each other. And of John's brave wife Mary who will find a way forward. A beautifully written, without a spare word, account of a strange, sad time.
If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org
