Author: AJ

Beautiful World, Where Are You – Sally Rooney

Ms. Rooney’s new book is about four 30-year-olds: Alice and Eileen, Simon and Felix. Although older than the teenagers in Normal People, these adults are no more successful in their relationships. Despite deep friendships and yes, love, they can be frustratingly emotionally distant, deflecting a question with a question as the rejoinder. Overall, a fabulous examination of the modern world. Desire is complicated with delusion; perceptions of happiness are clouded by anxiety and uncertainty. A brilliant book – highly recommended.

Hamnet and Judith – Maggie O-Farrell

It is the late 16th century. Agnes marries a Latin tutor and they have three children, Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. The death of one of the twins produces intense grief, so readers be warned that the final 100 pages of this historical novel are extraordinarily sad, culminating in the writing of Hamlet by the Latin tutor, aka William Shakespeare.

The Spectacular – Zoe Whittall

A “spectacular” new book from the author of the acclaimed The Best Kind Of People. This is a book about family relationships, mainly female relationships: erratic behaviour and complicated decisions. At its core, the issue between three generations of women is motherhood with emotions ranging (often) between elation and love, to paralyzing fear. Thanks Sarah, for this book which is highly recommended.

State of Terror – Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

This is a cracking good political thriller involving terrorist threats, combining the crime writing expertise of Louise Penny with the real-world political expertise of Hillary Clinton. The politics and drama of trying to prevent nuclear bomb explosions is portrayed brilliantly, with geopolitical actions in Frankfurt, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and in Washington DC. The book features strong feminist characters and the power of (female) friendships.

So Much Life Left Over – Louis De Bernieres

Daniel Pitt is a WWI flying ace who struggles to fid purpose after surviving the war – what to do with life inexplicably left over. His story from 1925-45 includes Ceylon, England, France and Germany. His marriage to Rosie slowly disintegrates, and Rosie acquires a remarkably mean-spirited persona. And there are Rosie’s three sisters, each strong individual characters. The story evolves in short chapters with different points-of-view. Overall, a compelling story of complex relationships in post-war and pre-war contexts.

Amy adds: Louis De Bernieres also wrote The Dust that Falls from Dreams, and the excellent Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

The Code Breaker – Walter Isaacson

This fabulous book makes me think I should read more non-fiction! First, an aside: the best acronyms are pronounceable. This book is about the discovery of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspersed short patronymic repeats, if you are interested), a powerful gene editing tool that may revolutionize biology. The book is meticulously researched with a lot of science, but it is also about scientists – what motivates them to pursue discoveries? The stark differences between collegial collaborations and cut-throat competition for prizes and patents is high-lighted. Finally, the ethics of gene editing is a major focus, specifically the divide between somatic editing to cure or prevent disease and germline (inheritable) editing which could be used to enhance traits like height or intelligence. This is a thoughtful and gripping book – highly recommended. Thanks Linda, for the gift of this book.

What Strange Paradise – Omar El Akkad

A Giller short-listed book about Amir, a 9-year-old Syrian refugee, the sole survivor of a shipwreck who is washed up on a Greek Island. He evades capture by local authorities and is rescued by Vanna, a 15-year-old resident of the island. What follows is a strange and dangerous odyssey by two children who do not speak a common language. They are pursued by Colonel Kethros, an implacable authority figure (think Javert). The writing is exceptional, describing both hope and despair, empathy and indifference.

The Son of the House – Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onubia

Also Giller short-listed: a Nigerian story of two women, Nwabula and Julie; their two seemingly independent lives intersect dramatically at the end of the book. The story begins in the 1970s, and then jumps forward to 2011.The book has two strong features. First, there is the Nigerian context, with both exotic and frustratingly corrupts aspects. But mostly this is about the resilience of women in an intense human drama.