5 Exciting New Fiction Books
A round-up of some of the new and prize-winning fiction we’re most excited about. All available either from our Curl Up with a Good Book collection on the Ground Floor of Fountains or in our literature section on the second floor. Happy reading!
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction this year, this novel tells the story of Benny, a teenage boy who begins to hear everyday objects in his house speak to him following his father’s death. When his mother develops a hoarding problem, he flees their house and its overabundance of talkative items in favour of the calmer and quieter public library. There, he meets a host of unusual characters, including a homeless poet and a girl with a pet ferret. Judges for the prize described it as a ‘“celebration of the power of books and reading” which was “a complete joy to read”.
The Roles We Play by Sabba Khan
Winner of this year’s Jhalak Prize for British and British resident Black and Minority Ethnic writers, this graphic memoir explores British-born Pakistani Sabba Khan’s identity and cultural heritage. This beautifully drawn book moves from her parents’ migration from Mirpur in Azad Kashmir following a devastating flood, to her experience growing up Muslim in London, to her relationship with her mother. Throughout, Sabba reflects on her identity and how it is influenced and shaped by others.
Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell
Winner of this year’s International Booker Prize, Shree’s novel tells the story of an elderly woman who takes a road trip with a hijra (third gender) person from India to Pakistan, scandalising her family. In the process, she comes to terms with her traumatic experience of Partition as a teenager. Judges for the prize note that the novel is light, funny and playful in spite of its serious themes and ‘utterly original’.
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize, this book tells the story of Tookie, a Native American woman recently released from prison who finds work in a bookshop. There she is haunted by the ghost of Flora, an annoying former customer who pretends to Native heritage. As Tookie investigates what is keeping Flora in the shop, the COVID-19 pandemic and then the death of George Floyd upend life in her native Minneapolis.
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Also shortlisted for the Women’s Prize, Shafak’s novel details the love story of Dafne and Kostas, a Turkish Muslim and Greek Christian Cypriot respectively, who find forbidden love in divided 1970s Cyprus. A generation later, following Defne’s death after decades of living in London, her daughter Ada discovers the trauma of the past that her parents have kept from her in order to protect her.
- By Katherine Hughes, Academic Liaison Librarian
