Beautyland                                                                  

By Marie-Helene Bertino

Picador/Macmillan Publishers

    Too serious for a fairy tale but just as warm and oddly reassuring. This is a story of a short life on Earth - an alien who is trying to send her planet observations of life here to let them know if this is  a good match for their needs. Spoiler - it might not be, but maybe...

    Wise, thoughtful, funny and sad - a book you don't want to miss.

If you would like to know more about this book, or own it (which I highly recommend as you will want to reread it) please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org 

We Do Not Part            

By Han Kang

Hogarth/PRH

    The writing is mesmerizing - as she walks through a blizzard, you feel each snowflake and the accumulation of them all. So too, the horrors during what feels like the endless war of the mid 20th century, building quietly and quickly upon the people who have lost loved ones.

    This is a beautiful and very sad book.

If you would like to know more about this book, or own it, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org .

Shy Creatures           

By Clare Chambers

Mariner Books/HarperCollins

    This is a quietly moving, and funny, story of characters finding their ways in the world, or not doing so.

    The Aunts are loving and caring for their nephew William, in the best way they can. William grows to adulthood in a confined world and finds solace in nature and drawing. The staff of the local hospital have their own confusions. 

If you'd like to know more about this book, or own it, please check your local bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org .