A House for Alice by Diana Evans
Alice wants to return to Nigeria after fifty years in London. Her estranged husband Cornelius lives alone, with carers and family regularly popping in to check on him. Suddenly, he dies in a house fire, on the same night as the tragedy of Grenfell. The family are in a dreadful state and they struggle to place his death within the context of Grenfell’s fire.
So, when Alice shares her plans to move to Benin City, into ‘a little house, long in the dreaming which her relatives had been building for her for when it was time to go home to Nigeria’, her grown-up children in London are surprised and upset. Amid squabbles on how to respond to their mother’s dreams of a new life and sorting through their late father’s estate, Alice’s family must come together.
In the second section of the novel, we are introduced to seemingly new characters. Damian is in Paris searching for his daughter Avril (their connection to Alice’s family is revealed through the mention of a shared holiday in Spain.) Damian will be familiar for readers of Diana Evans’ novel ‘Ordinary People’ published in 2018, as he was one of the main protagonists in that book.
From here, the list of characters expands bravely, rapidly. Keeping tabs on every new personality seems impossible, as fresh faces are introduced at quite a pace. Designed to make us lose our bearings (placing us in a similar position to Alice’s family), the novel resembles a symphony, superbly orchestrated. Diana Evans writes so beautifully, and the story is at its best while exploring the complications of family life against London’s ever-changing skyline.
‘Shy’ by Max Porter
Experimental yet readable and engaging, Max Porter’s latest novella shares the story of Shy who is escaping Last Chance – a home for ‘disturbed young men’. Sounds like a simple plan… But Shy soon realises that he cannot escape from himself (although that’s no bad thing.) Max Porter works wonders with words and the joy of his work leaps from every page.
Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson
Read one or two of these brilliant short stories every day to hold onto the characters (who make repeat appearances in later stories within the collection.) It is a very clever and thought-provoking book, like a beautiful tapestry with interlooping themes and ideas… It’s utterly brilliant!
Windmill Hill by Lucy Atkins
Astrid is 82 years old. She lives in a dilapidated windmill in Sussex with Mrs Baker (who is still a mystery to Astrid, despite their closeness). Astrid has recently learned that her Hollywood actor ex-husband has written an explosive memoir, and she knows she has to stop it from being published. But… why? Read it and find out! Highly, highly recommend.
Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
Books about literary crimes are great, aren’t they? This is the latest novel from Rebecca F. Kuang, all about a young woman called June. Her friend, Athena, is a roaring success, a bestselling novelist, while June struggles to get her work published by a mainstream publisher. June invites Athena round for dinner, and Athena tells her about her latest book, and how she has not even divulged the plot to her literary agent or publisher, and she mentions how much she enjoys working on typewriters. Athena then chokes and dies, by complete accident, leaving June with her new, unseen manuscript… In all, it’s a very compelling story.
