What we read in November
My Good Bright Wolf by Sarah Moss
On the face of it, Moss, the child of bourgeoisie academics, had the perfect childhood. She had ballet classes, sailing trips, and walking weekends in the Lake District. But she also suffered horrendous neglect and sadistic abuse from the 'penny pinching and body shaming' parents she calls 'the owl and the jumbly girl'. After a childhood of being told she was fat, she developed, and lives with to this day, a severe eating disorder that has seen her hospitalised as an adult. Interspersed into what feel like arguments with her demons, Moss interrogates the class structures that protected her parents and the childhood novels of Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Arthur Ransom that shaped her love of reading. This is not an easy read, but will be in my top five for 2024 for her blunt honesty and poetic brilliance.
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
A Sapphic, Holmesian, cosy academia set on the colonies of Jupiter, this intriguing and unique novella reunites two old flames in the search for a missing academic, with larger consequences for the post-Earth community. Older's world building mixes old Earth Oxbridge tea and scones with a vast network of Jovian 'platforms' housing a Terran diaspora.
Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Sadie Smith (not her real name), is a disruptor for hire, formerly FBI, now in France licking her wounds after taking the blame on a job gone wrong. In her sights now is a commune of eco-activists under the leadership of Bruno, who advocates for a return to a Neanderthal lifestyle, and lives deep underground in a lightless cave while his followers plan to destroy a local dam project. As she surveils and infiltrates the commune via hacked emails and in person, Sadie finds her professional detachment waning as Bruno seduces her with his alternative histories. This Booker Prize shortlisted title is a darkly funny and deftly clever exploration of modern eco warfare.
Return to Blood by Michael Bennett
Set six months after the events of Better the Blood, former Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman is living the quiet life in the small coastal community of Tātā Bay, where her beloved father Eru lives. There she teachers young boys how to drive, gardens on the marae, and runs on the endless expanse of beach. But of course drama is never far away, and when Hana's daughter Addison finds a body in the sand dunes, Hana and her family are pulled back into the orbit of murder and violence. Bennett has again worked his magic, if anything, Return to Blood is a stronger, tighter novel than the first Westerman book. A perfect summer page turner for the beach.
If you're a bit tired of the same old Jack Reacher protagonists, try Ben Koenig. He's sarcastic, fallible (although not too much) and has some powerful friends and enemies, and he feels no fear (literally). I enjoyed the first Koenig story last year, and here Craven explores further the possibilities of such a setup. Our protagonist is more refined and the relationship between Koenig and his handler Jen Draper more fleshed out. Implausible yes, fun, very much so. A solid, seat of your pants thrill ride, worthy of James Bond's stamp of approval.
This is Happiness by Niall Williams
Disillusioned with a life as a trainee priest, 17 year old Noe Crowe returns to his grandparents home in the small, Western Irish village of Faha described as being at least a generation behind Dublin. A village rich with character, if not money, Faha is soon to be connected to the 'electric', bringing a sense of wonder and no small amount of trepidation to its quirky inhabitants. The electric also brings Christy, a man in his 60s, who has a history with a woman in the village, and has come to make amends. Noe and Christy strike up an unusual friendship over an unusually hot and fine Easter as both comes to terms with love, life and the future. This is Happiness is a dense read, you need to read every word, but it is also funny, charming, sweet and hopeful. A wonderful addition to the canon of Irish writing.
So Far For Now by Fiona Kidman
In this her third volume of essays, written shortly after she was widowed, Dame Fiona writes evocatively and freely on her new state, on being a parent and grandmother, on travelling, writing, her Pike River advocacy, on France and Katherine Mansfield, Jean Batten, the pandemic and life in general. She also dedicates a large chapter to the life of Albert Black, the penultimate man sentenced to death in New Zealand, whom she fictionalised in her award winning novel This Mortal Boy. This insight into her writing process is fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed this rich collection of essays.
