Newly arrived literary fiction
I'll Come to You by Rebecca Kauffman
Kauffman intricately weaves the stories of an extended family across a single year in 1995, anchored by the anticipation of a new baby. Through overlapping narratives, Kauffman explores the complexities of love, loss, and the enduring yet challenging bonds of family. We encounter a couple navigating infertility, a woman reeling from a sudden divorce, and a man grappling with a parent's decline. The novel gently unfolds, revealing the vulnerabilities and unspoken tensions that simmer beneath the surface of familial connections. It's a poignant exploration of intimacy, memory, and the small, significant moments that shape our lives.
Gunn's unsettling and disquieting collection of short stories has been shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for fiction at this year's Ockham book awards. Set across the UK and New Zealand, the stories dip their toes into the horror genre with blood soaked gardens, mutant fish and the very human responses of jealousy, disgust and moral cruelty.
Two young people, separated from their mother by red tape, politics and xenophobia find themselves alone in a house in middle England. A horse destined for the knacker's yard, a future all too possible. Ali Smith's newest work continues on themes from her Seasons Quartet - immigration and person hood, othering, climate change and totalitarianism. But also hope and love and promise.
More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
When a bipolar disorder diagnosis derails her freshman year at NYU 19 year old Maddy struggles with medication, identity, and relationships as she navigates manic highs and depressive lows, until her unexpected pursuit of stand-up comedy becomes a unique avenue for self-discovery and a way to process her experiences. While the narrative is confined to Maddy's perspective, Genova crafts a poignant and educational story about living with bipolar disorder and the search for self-acceptance.
Two cousins Erin and Star, both jaded and overwhelmed by life escape in an unwarranted 1994 Daihatsu Mira for a 'tragicomic' post-colonial road trip, unearths family myths, grief, and divisions, yet hints at a possible return to their ancestral lands. Rahurahu's debut novel was longlist for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for fiction at this year's Ockham book awards.
Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna
Maggie and Ed are having a baby and moving out of London to the suburbs. But Ed's having panic attacks and has a history with Phil, which he's keeping from Maggie. Phil is in a relationship with his housemate Keith, but Keith has a boyfriend. Callum, Phil's older brother is settling down to get married, but his drinking and drug dealing is getting in the way, and their mother Rosaleen is struggling to find a way to tell her sons she is dying. Over the course of a scorching weekend in London, these characters lives interweave and connect in a book that bursts with honesty and vitality.
Directionless and struggling with addiction, Irish journalist Anthony Fennell is dispatched to report on underwater cable repairs off the African coast, focusing on the enigmatic engineer John Conway and his relationship with actress Zanele. The demanding work at sea mirrors the characters' personal struggles with connection and disconnection. As Fennell delves deeper, a significant "twist" emerges, forcing them to confront love, loss, and the fragile nature of our interconnected world. The novel explores how technology both unites and isolates, and the human need to repair what is broken, both digitally and emotionally.
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Recovering from the messy dissolution of her long time relationship, academic Nadia takes a job with the UN in Baghdad de-radicalising and re-patriating ISIS brides. Completely outside of her comfort zone and operating way above her knowledge sphere, Nadia must learn to navigate the complex, corrupt and convoluted political and power game, while dealing with the flashbacks to her orthodox Muslim teenage years. A wickedly funny and sharp debut novel that examines the ethics of international aid and the challenges of understanding those with fundamentally different beliefs.
