Ellie —
The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis
Set in the shadow of the English witch trials, the village of Little Nettlebed is starting to experience the uncanny – from a giant fish washing up on the riverbed and a summer of drought that won’t break to the five Mansfield sisters that seem to be turning into dogs.
The Hounding pulls heavily on narratives you may have already read, namely The Virgin Suicides and The Crucible, all the while putting a twist on the formula. The story of the sisters is told from the perspective of other people, and the cult of their lives grows without giving the reader any input from the subjects themselves. Everyone from the town seems to have an opinion on the sisters and rarely are they positive. Purvis writes a tale that’s both suspenseful and easy to read, leaving the reader to ask the question: are these five girls turning into wild monsters, or are they simply having feminist thoughts?
Rachel —
Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
Every once in a while, you read a book that lingers with you, long after you have turned the last page. This is such a book. I loved this author’s Booker Prize winning The Line of Beauty and this novel is equally – if not more – compelling. Hollinghurst’s prose is simultaneously poetic and accessible, as wondrous as it is witty. Written in the first person and drawing on many real historical events and characters (Lawrence Olivier is mentioned several times), this is the story of David Win, son of a talented, unconventional seamstress. The writing is so evocative, so empathetic, that it reads like a memoir.
Spanning the protagonist’s lifetime from 1960s England to the time of Covid, this story is about the life of a talented English actor of Burmese heritage, who is unable to escape his connection to the former school bully whose life of privilege evolves into a political career. Beautifully written and expertly plotted, I haven’t read a novel this good for ages. It is an example of how in the hands of talented writer, fiction can explain and teach in ways that journalism cannot. The shock of the ending is profound and will leave me thinking about the cleverness of this writing and the message it delivers for a long time.
Lotte —
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is an exhilarating experience that will have you of the edge of your seat. Small town girl Pippa Fitz-Amobi takes it upon herself to uncover the hidden secrets of a five year old double homicide – determined to prove the innocence of the alleged murder. But the town of Little Kilton is riddled with unsolved questions and impossible answers, and the more she finds, the more that remains undiscovered.
In this riveting mystery, Pippa must watch her back as she is consumed by the impossibility of the case; a festering obsession that threatens everyone she loves. This fast-paced novel will keep you glued to the pages as you follow this intelligent high-schooler and her allies. As more secrets are uncovered, it looks like all those residing in Little Kilton are under suspicion. Pippa is left with nowhere to run… but perhaps into the very clutches of the one she is searching for.
Laura —
Plastic Budgie by Olivia De Zilva
Plastic Budgie is not quite the memoir and coming of age story that you expect. Author Olivia De Zilva is incredibly funny and incredibly candid about her life. Every hilarious story about the embarrassment that comes from having to interact with your family as a teenager comes a nuanced exploration on what it means to be a child, a teenager, an adult, navigating your identity as part of the Asian diaspora in a country like Australia. Olivia relays her own experiences but also acts as an observer and biographer in a way of her own mother and her grandparents, Gong Gong and Poh Poh, as they navigate their own challenges.
This book doesn’t ever shy away from the darkness that comes with life, particularly in the last part of the novel where De Zilva throws the trappings of the memoir genre out the window. Here the lines of memoir and fiction become blurred, and the story becomes something else entirely – and you will definitely wish it was a lot longer than its very readable 150 pages. I was very moved by Olivia De Zilva’s debut novel. How does this book manage to convey so much in so little time? You will need to pick it up to find out for yourself.