Deeply personal and beautifully rendered, these page-turners are sure to leave you wanting more
Words by Charlotte Griffiths
A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe
This exquisite debut tells the story of star chorister William Lavery as he makes his way in the world, having followed in his late father’s footsteps and joined the family business as an embalmer, graduating his course with top marks. During celebrations with his classmates, the call goes out for help: it is October 1966, and news has broken of the tragic landslide smothering the small mining village of Aberfan. An ever-mounting death toll means there is an urgent need for embalmers to help with the bodies of the young children killed. Newly graduated William immediately offers his service, and is forever altered by what he experiences in Wales – both by the scale of the loss, and the raw humanity of those left behind.
The rest of the story sees William’s tale unfold further: his past as a young chorister at a Cambridge college chapel, his close relationship with his widowed mother – who is desperate for him to pursue a career in music and not join the family undertakers – and the intense friendship with fellow chorister Martin. All of these are perfectly true-to-life in complexity, but it is in the quiet moments that this book truly soars. The fine detail with which the horrors of the Aberfan tragedy are rendered, making them even more heartbreaking; the gentle, domestic scenes of William and his landlord’s daughter Gloria having cocoa together. These all reinforce the love and connections that support this man through the lifelong impact of the trauma he experiences in Wales, and the loss of his father at such a young age.
Cambridge is perfectly depicted, as you would hope from an author who lives in our city. The classics are all present: The Copper Kettle hosts William and his mother’s catch-ups, and Fitzbillies buns feature throughout, as do the timeless and strangely sentient college chapels – but there are also nods for insiders. Mill Road is perfectly described as the ‘guts’ of Cambridge; the low wall outside King’s is a place to stop and rest; the ‘thwock’ of tennis balls on the courts by the river on Jesus Green a transportive sound.
Even the title plainly lays out the two-sided nature of life. That it’s possible to both hate and love someone in the same moment – to never want to see them again, yet also desire to see no one else. It shows that in the midst of heart-wrenching sorrow, there can be shimmering moments of hope, and that the only way to know true love is to bravely face the terrifying prospect of losing it. We might never know the people whose lives we affect – we can only try to do the right thing, with kindness. A heart-stopping must-read that will see you looking up times for Evensong, or at the very least, putting some choral music on your playlist.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
This new novel from the writer of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel opens in 1912, with 18-year-old Edwin St. Andrew on a journey across the Atlantic. The third (and therefore surplus) son of an earl, his travels have been forced upon him after embarrassing his family.
He slowly makes stumbling headway across the continent, hampered by inertia and lack of experience; falling in and out of company with similarly privileged, adrift gentlemen – and he seems destined for a life along these lines. That is until he travels to Vancouver Island, and the tiny rural town of Caiette. There, he stumbles into the forest, bumps into a curious priest, and experiences a reality-shattering moment which he can only describe as supernatural.
The book jumps forward to 2020, and then quickly onwards to 2203, where an author (who lives on the Moon) is beginning a book tour in New York for a novel about a pandemic – to say much more would give the game away!
Yes, one aspect of the novel is about pandemics, but the outbreaks are reflected upon from a distance. It’s mainly a novel about love, connection and family ties – packed with glorious detail that creates believable existences hundreds of years in the future, on different planets to our own. The author’s ability to build worlds should be no surprise to anyone familiar with her previous works: her futures are perfectly imaginable, precisely because of the humanity contained within them, and the messy, meaningful relationships work in 1912 or 2203. Her masterfully plotted and interwoven stories lock into place with a thud, tying up loose ends you didn’t even realise had come undone. A superb read from one of the best writers of today.
On the bookshelf
The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré
This word-of-mouth hit debut follows 14-year-old Adunni as she navigates life in Nigeria. Considered property and sold into a marriage to a much older man, a series of events unfold which see her fall into life as a domestic servant. Yet, she is still determined to get educated and have her own “louding” voice. The language in this book is fantastic: writer Abi Daré plays with nouns and tenses to create a totally unique voice for her protagonist, which develops as her education takes place.
Hands by Lauren Brown
Lauren’s life story and her struggles with dermatillomania – skin picking – are told in a free-flowing, confident voice that leads readers from subject to subject, as swiftly as thoughts can shift when wrestling with anxiety. She traces the source of her struggles and mental health challenges through her past, recounting family holidays, work situations and making numerous pop culture references that will resonate strongly with older millennials.
Death On The Trans-Siberian Express by C J Farrington
Railway worker Olga Pushkin dreams of studying literature and becoming a writer, yet it seems unlikely that she’ll escape the provincial town of Roslazny in deepest, coldest Russia. That is, until the body of a murdered American student is pushed off the passing Trans-Siberian Express – Olga resolves to investigate the mystery. There’s even a pet hedgehog called Dmitri.
