Charlotte Griffiths showcases the work of three critically acclaimed women writers
Words by Charlotte Griffiths
A Flat Place by Noreen Masud
This meditative, absorbing non-fiction work follows author Noreen Masud as she moves through some of the UK’s flattest landscapes, while also processing memories of her challenging childhood in Pakistan and dealing with the ripples that continue to echo through her life as a young adult.
A Flat Place by Noreen Masud
Only when she’s surrounded by nothingness does she feel most herself, and able to handle the complex inner landscape left by her upbringing. She seeks out the most iconic unbroken horizons around our country to help handle her turbulent mental health: including some beautiful sections set in the local landscapes of East Anglia.
Her book segues seamlessly between finely drawn nature writing, haunting childhood memoir, meditations on academic research into PTSD and modern methods of healing trauma.
At times, you might not even notice the change of genre happening – it’s like gazing out of a window while riding a King’s Lynn train, as it slices through the flat Fenland fields, slipping from hedge to open farmland and back again in mere moments.
Reminiscent of Educated by Tara Westover, Noreen’s confident, candid approach to sharing her story is completely engrossing and charming, and A Flat Place has been deservedly laden with awards of all kinds – including being shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction last year.
This is a calm, collected book that reads like slipping into cool, still water on the hottest summer’s day: you’ll emerge deeply refreshed and carrying with you a newfound respect for the vast, horizontal landscapes around our city.
So Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne
So Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne
Buckle up for this rollercoaster of a dark-comedy thriller, in which four thirty something friends all reunite at a baby shower in the countryside during an absolutely sweltering heatwave; but it’s not just the climate that’s making them all hot under their collars.
Mum-to-be Nikki is heavily pregnant, yet uncertain it’s what she actually wants for herself. Charlotte – who’s throwing the shower for Nikki – can’t become pregnant, but is absolutely desperate to be a mother, and is funnelling all that emotion into making sure the event is perfect (with a capital P). Lauren has a young baby, but is finding motherhood harder than she ever could have imagined, while happily child-free Steffi is forging ahead with her career, but feels judged by her supposedly dearest pals and doesn’t know if she still has anything in common with them.
Events soon take a dramatic turn for the worse, and the finger of suspicion is pointed at each of the four women – but which of them is to blame, or are they all at fault in some way?
This is an eye-openingly extreme look at what it is to be a woman and a friend in the modern age, told from four corners of the female experience. Brutal descriptions of savagely plausible experiences mean this might not be one for imminently expectant mothers, but it’s a great summer whodunnit novel for other readers.
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton
Reading this brief novel is a startlingly visceral, yet totally unforgettable experience. It follows erotic fiction writer Shaka, who is profoundly disabled. She is living in a care home full-time and is completely dependent on an electric wheelchair and ventilator. It has now been almost 30 years since she last walked outside.
Her parents’ early deaths have left her wealthy beyond her needs, although she continues to earn by writing SEO-friendly articles for websites, as well as extremely popular explicit stories, donating the additional income to food banks or other female-focused charities.
She launches her darkest wishes into cyberspace via an anonymous Twitter account, confident that no one will ever read them – yet it’s impossible to be entirely invisible on the internet. It turns out that a male carer has been following her online utterances and has an indecent proposal for her – but is she really ready to make these most disturbing of dreams a reality?
Among the most startling features of this short narrative are its matter-of-fact physicality, the meticulous planning and relentless compromises that ensure Shaka’s continued existence.
When she does manage to walk, the sway of her body means that she often bangs her head, while when she reads, the weight of the tomes crush her lungs and bend her already-curved spine.
Provocative, political and deeply physical, this wildly arresting novel hugely deserves its many accolades – as well as pride of place atop your pile of stunning titles to read for the summer.
Canine companions in fiction
Four-legged friends steal the show in these compelling stories that run the gamut of genres
Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment
Twelve-year-old sausage dog Dorothy is ill, and her elderly owners must get her to the vet. But they are also showing their beloved NYC apartment to prospective buyers – and navigating a possible terrorist threat that has brought the city to a standstill.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Grams
Six-Thirty is an abandoned explosives-detection dog adopted by the hero of this fiercely feminist historical comedy, Elizabeth Zott, as she wrestles the patriarchy pinning her in place. (The book version of this dog is better than the TV show’s!)
Nettle & Bone by T Kingfisher
Marra needs to protect her beloved sister from an evil prince, and a grave witch offers her help – provided she completes three ‘impossible’ tasks, one of which is creating a ‘dog of bones’. A brilliant, Pratchett-esque, feel-good fairytale for grown-ups.
Check out April’s Book Club and explore thrillers to sink your teeth into
