Part two of July’s paperback preview kicks off with two superb novels from Irish writers, both favourites from last year. Sheila Armstrong’s Falling Animals spans a year in which the authorities try to trace the identity of a corpse found on an Irish beach within sight of the shipwreck that caught fire a while ago, some say the work of the shipping company wanting to hurry along their insurance claim. Witnesses come forward but details are sketchy. A year to the day after the man’s death, a memorial is unveiled filled with names of those who perished at sea. Armstrong’s novel is a mosaic of often strikingly poetic narratives from those who had connections to the man. A very fine debut which reminded me a little of Jon McGregor’s Reservoir 13 in both its structure and the quality of its writing. Shame about that cover, though.
I was hesitant about reading Colin Walsh’s debut, partly because of the hype surrounding it and partly because it came billed as a
thriller, not my favourite genre, but Walsh is a Stinging Fly contributor which swung it for me. Set in an Irish seaside town, Kala sees a reunion of schoolfriends just before the remains of one of their group are found, unearthed at a building site fifteen years after her disappearance. The discovery of Kala’s body sets in train a series of events that reveals who has been controlling the web of corruption and brutality well established in this picturesque small town. I’m a sucker for the friends reunited structure handled with such skill here. I found Walsh’s novel riveting, a proper literary page-turner with a little bit of The Secret History about it.
Huma Qureshi’s Playing Games follows sisters Mira and Hanna who lost their mother in their twenties. Hana is the eldest, a successful divorce lawyer married to the easy-going Samir and the linchpin of her aspiring playwright sister’s life. Nothing deflects Hana from her life plan until her assumption that Samir shares her determination to have children is challenged provoking a crisis. When Mira overhears an exchange between the couple she shouldn’t, an idea for a play is sparked. Qureshi’s novel explores family and relationship dynamics, themes familiar from her excellent short story collection Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love.
I thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Lipstein’s entertaining Last Resort a couple of years ago, making me keen to read The Vegan which sees a hedge fund manager, about to hit the jackpot, hosting a dinner party at his beautiful Brooklyn home. He and his wife have invited their new neighbours in a bid to impress but when the evening descends into dullness, Herschel pulls a trick which backfires badly. ‘In The Vegan, Andrew Lipstein challenges our notions of virtue with a brilliant tale of guilt, greed, and how far we’ll go to be good’ says the blurb mentioning a ‘sudden connection with a neighbourhood dog’ which I hope ends well for the canine.
July’s paperback short story collection is Tessa Hadley’s After the Funeral, comprising twelve stories about small events that have surprisingly large repercussions, from two estranged sisters pretending not to recognize each other in a hotel to a teenager waking up one morning suddenly aware of her parents’ faults. ‘As psychologically astute as they are emotionally rich, these stories illuminate the enduring conflicts between responsibility and freedom, power and desire, convention and subversion, reality and dreams’ says the blurb, promisingly. I’ve had mixed experiences with Hadley’s novels but I think I might get on better with her short stories.
That’s it for July. A click on a title will take you either to my review or to a more detailed synopsis should you want to know more, and if you’d like to catch up with part one it’s here. New fiction is here and here.