This month, Charlotte Griffiths discovers a trio of new books from local authors
Who’s the Favourite? by Catherine Carr
There’s no avoiding siblings: you either have them, parent them, work with them or befriend them, and this unique relationship is finally getting its turn in the spotlight.
The story behind Who’s the Favourite? goes that local author and broadcaster Catherine Carr was musing on her own set of sisters when radio legend Jane Garvey pointed out that siblings are likely to be the longest relationship any of us will ever have. Two ideas were born: a podcast called Relatively, on which Carr interviews famous people and their siblings both together and separately; and this charming, life-affirming, fascinating and perspective-shifting read.
Carr’s carefully researched chapters lead us through a series of sibling-connected subjects, interwoven with observations from experts in the field. We find hilarious family languages and unique words; the eye-opening ‘glass’ sibling scenario, where a child’s brother or sister has extreme needs; how steps and halves merge into a new family model and what happens in the saddest of circumstances when a sibling passes away, and all those memories and shared experiences disappear forever.
Carr subtly intersperses accounts of her own life experiences throughout, which only serve to highlight the importance of these relationships, and might encourage you to revisit your own sibling connections with more attention.
The book’s sister podcast is due to launch a new season right about now. So, once you’ve had your fill of the printed version, you can also enjoy the audio accompaniment – ideal listening for the warmer months ahead.
Glyph by Ali Smith
A second book with siblings at its heart – which even has another book, Gliff, as its ‘family’ – is this multi-layered, shimmering novel from Cambridge resident Ali Smith. It tells stories on stories on stories, as sisters Petra and Patch deal with the metaphorical and literal ghosts that haunt their family.
Glyph opens with the sisters’ recollection of their great grandfather’s stark tale concerning a horse’s death on a World War I battlefield, before slipping into another story of unforgettable horror from the front lines they were told at a very young age, terrifying in its blunt delivery.
Then, gently swinging back in that artfully melodious style Smith is so good at, the story moves to an almost comedic set of events in which a young Petra pretends to talk to the dead to help soothe her sister’s nightmares. News gets out and before long she’s known as ‘the medium’, with neighbours turning up at their house to speak with their late loved ones.
The visitors are turned away by their parents, but the ghosts stay – in the form of an imaginary figure the sisters christen Glyph – and it becomes harder and harder to make out what’s truth and what’s fiction, or if it’s all just a matter of perspective.
In the present day, in an attempt to put the ghosts to rest, Petra researches them to see if they ever really existed. Meanwhile, Patch’s daughter Billie is more concerned with lecturing the sisters about society’s impending collapse.
As with all of Smith’s work, it’s deeply thought-provoking, reading like a meditation on war, highlighting individuals who slip between stories and go forgotten in history, yet deserve to be remembered.
Good for You by Lucy Vine
This romp of a novel by local author Lucy Vine follows psychologist Liv through a public shaming and the ripples it causes.
When at a restaurant with her long-term boyfriend, expecting to be proposed to, she finds herself dumped out of the blue. Her furious reaction is filmed by another guest and goes viral on TikTok. As a result of becoming ‘Tiramisu Girl’ (you’ll have to read it), she’s put on leave from her job on morning TV, her private clients cancel their sessions and her publishers start to make worrying noises about the book they commissioned.
Adrift and furious, Liv is required to undergo six sessions of anger management therapy, and for the sake of expediency her agent decides she should complete those sessions with her current colleague and university friend, the irritatingly smug, three-piece-suit-wearing Edward. Although no real therapist would let their personal and professional lives intermingle in such a complicated fashion, never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Their sessions together begin to reveal what’s simmering underneath Liv’s anger. And the book is only just getting started.
It’s described as a romance, yet while there’s definitely a love story at its heart, it’s not the one you’ll expect. Lighthearted and messy with one hand, proudly feminist and furious with the other, Liv’s chaotic post-break-up decision-making processes are hugely relatable, and Vine’s eighth novel will no doubt be as successful as its predecessors – a great holiday read.
New releases
The Versions of Us
By Laura Barnett
A fantastic time-slip/alternative- reality romance that starts in our city in 1958. Two students meet by chance and fall in love, but they also don’t. A sliding-doors novel with a trio of possible futures for our heroes: some outcomes appear across all of their realities, some are unique, but all will break your heart in their own way. Perfect summer reading for those who love wondering ‘what if?’
The Longest Journey
By EM Forster
Forster’s own favourite of his books that many say draws on his time in Cambridge. In the early 1900s, Rickie Elliott is busy enjoying student life when reality gets its claws into him. A series of compromises and choices ensue. Descriptions of the countryside are interspersed with asides on creativity and what it costs to challenge society’s expectations: a read worth persevering with.
Nine Lessons
By Nicola Upson
The seventh in local author Upson’s brilliant series with crime writer Josephine Tey in the lead. Not only is this evocative novel set in our city in the thirties, it also sees Josephine and detective Archie Penrose investigate a series of murders connected to the work of legendary Cambridge academic and ghost-storysmith MR James. One to file away for spooky season…
Check out May 2026’s Book Club and the coffee table reads