BookTalk
sailing boat. In 2041, David flees with his young daughter, Lou,
from a war in Southern Europe, which by then is plagued by
drought. David and Lou are desperately searching for the rest
of their family. Then they find Signe’s abandoned yacht in a
desiccated French garden
miles inland. As they look
through the reminders of
Signe’s travels, their journey
of survival and hope
combines with hers in a
heart-tugging, inspiring
story about the power of
nature and the human spirit.
discussed novels of the year. Its themes range through body
image and motherhood to female shame and solidarity. It is
infused with the spirit of our times, but is also engaging and
accessible.
Two collections of short
stories from big names in
the literary world catch our
attention this month as well.
Grand Union (l), by Zadie
Smith, includes 10 new
stories and some of her
most-loved pieces from the
New Yorker magazine and
elsewhere. It is a collection
about time, place, identity
and rebirth, the ghosts of our
past that haunt our present,
and the futures that hurtle
towards us.
Echoes Of The City (l), by
Lars Saabye Christensen, is
acclaimed as one the great
novels of modern
Norwegian literature. Most
of Christensen’s works are
set in his birth city, Oslo.
Echoes Of The City, finds
Norway’s capital emerging
from a crippling economic
crisis, as the author explores how small, barely perceptible acts
of kindness and compassion, and tiny shifts in fortune, can
change many lives. The central characters are Maj and Ewald
Kristoffersen and their son Jesper, whose lives are closely
entwined with those of their neighbours. When butcher’s son
Jostein is hit by a vehicle and becomes deaf as a result, Jesper
promises to be his ears in the world.
The 23 stories in Prayer For
The Living (l), by Ben Okri,
blur distinctions between illusion and reality to have readers
pondering, laughing at loud, and shuddering. The tales are set
in London (UK), in historic Byzantium, in the ghetto, in the
Andes, and in a printer’s shop in Spain. The characters
include a murderer, a writer, a detective, a man in a cave, a
man in a mirror, two little boys, a prison door, and Okri
himself.
So Lucky (l), by Dawn O’Porter, is tipped to be one of the most
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Key: (l) hardback or large paperback (p) small paperback