Each week our wonderful staff share the books that they've been enjoying.

David Little is reading The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein

I’ve recently read and loved The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante. This taut psychological drama is impressively dense and layered for such a slim book. the story follows Leda, and as it unfolds past and present brush together to reveal a particularly complex experience of motherhood. So much here turns on the ambiguous meaning of Leda’s actions, and how she voices thoughts and feelings about motherhood that appear shocking because they are so rarely said aloud. But what really impressed me is how Ferrante rejects taking a moral position on Leda’s behaviour, instead forcing the reader to face their own uncertainties. Such a smart and brave book.

Tracy Hwang is reading Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li

This is a heartbreakingly honest piece of autofiction on grief and loss, specifically on what it is like for a mother to lose her son to suicide. At times the pain is so keenly felt in Li's prose, that it feels like looking at an open wound. Yet, the clear manifestation of the mother's undying love for her son makes this difficult read all the more worthwhile.

Yasmin Baker is reading House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

I just read House of Salt and Sorrows and I am OBSESSED. After reading this one I immediately had to jump into the second book, House of Roots and Ruin.

It's such a beautiful read, the writing flows and the characters are well flushed out. It's hauntingly gothic and spooky, with a hint of romance, and I could not put it down. We're low on stock but have reordered it, because more people need to read it!