What we're reading: Newman, de Kerangal & Street
Each week our wonderful staff share the books that they've been enjoying.
Chris is reading Sandwich by Catherine Newman
I have been seen.
Reading about a 54 year old woman dealing with parents, adult children, her partner and menopause while on an annual holiday was utterly, wonderfully cathartic. I laughed out loud. I cried. Sandwich needs to be read by everyone. It explains the physical and emotional turmoil of getting older; it shows the inner dialogue of resentment and love and honour; and it does it with grace and humour.
I asked my best friend to read this so we could laugh at the lines that have been written down but that surely we had already said to one another. I asked my bloke to read it so that he could see I wasn’t the only woman veering here and there with delight or anger. I asked them to read it because it’s an exposé of an older woman staring bravely at the future.
They both enjoyed it very much and you will as well. And now of course, I have to read everything that Catherine Newman has ever written . . .
Baz is reading Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore
Eastbound is a novella-sized literary thriller, and from the first sentence it truly hits the ground running, hurtling forward in a breathless rush to a great end. A young man is conscripted into the army and is on the Trans-Siberian railway to begin his life of military service – except he decides to make an escape. It was a thrill to be close to Aliocha and be scared with him as he fights for his freedom. Maylis de Kerangal does an excellent job narrating his turmoil. Aliocha’s fright and desperation are palpable.
An absorbing story, stylishly and gorgeously written in long, sliding sentences that are propelled by the excitement of everything that’s happening, from one tense moment to the next. I loved how cinematic, atmospheric and darkly glittering it was. A wild train ride!
Alicia, a member of the 2024 Teen Advisory Board, is reading A Curse of Salt by Sarah Street
A Curse of Salt by Sarah Street is the most magical mix of fantasy, romance, adventure and a beautiful retelling of Beauty and The Beast. Ria Lucroy is determined to save her family so she comes face-to-face with not only pirates but with the notorious ‘Heartless King’ who epitomises death. But Street teaches us that we shouldn’t believe every story we’re told. . . She weaves together a world of pirates, sea monsters and curses whilst perfecting the tropes of found family and the classic enemies to lovers romance.
A Curse of Salt is for those who fall in love with the morally grey characters, whose favourite Disney princess is Belle and those wishing they could live in a fantasy land to escape reality. It is a powerful, magical and beautifully written debut novel that has become one of my favourite reads of the year!
