The Other Me
Saskia Sarginson (Piatkus)
****
Book buff
Lying about her home and her past sets Klaudia Meyer, the daughter of a former Nazi soldier, free to be Eliza Bennet, an independent ballet dancer with the world at her feet. But when tragedy strikes in London, the tangled web Klaudia has woven abruptly closes in, separating her from the people she loves most. The telling of this layered and gripping story is unaffectedly poignant and the characters, who often do bad things for good reasons, capture one’s sympathetic imagination entirely.
- Erin Devenish @ErinDevenish811
In My House
Alex Hourston (Faber & Faber)
*****
Book thrill
Maggie Benson is 58 and leading a neatly compartmentalised, undramatic, organised life – until she rescues an Albanian teenager from a vicious trafficker at Gatwick airport. Something about Anja, foreign and feral, gets under Maggie’s defences. But with the thawing comes a creeping sense of unease, even of menace. What does Anja really want, and what is the truth of her story? Hourston has written an excellent first novel, which really does compel the reader to read on and get to the end in one sitting.
- Margaret von Klemperer
Fishing Stories for Africa
Edited by Edward Truter & Martin Rudman (Edward Truter & Martin Rudman)
****
Book trek
There are great tales of fishing in this book, both fictional and true: of the one that got away, the big catch, bruised egos, the triumphs on the open sea, and the failures of a day out on the river. At its best this collection of 40 stories is a lesson about men and their love for the untameable nature of wild waters. These men are not all seasoned writers, but their fish stories are full of emotion, love and feeling for the great catch.
- Kgebetli Moele
Insect Farm
Stuart Prebble (Alma Books)
****
Book thrill
Opening strong, and using stark descriptions, Prebble’s tale is centred on two men, Jonathan Maguire and a his mentally handicapped brother, Roger, who live in 1950s England. Jonathan’s plans to make a life of his own are scuppered after the mysterious deaths of his parents. He leaves behind his wife Harriet, who has chosen to finish her degree, and goes to care for Roger. Sure, the back cover tells us we’re in thriller territory, but it fails to give us fair warning as to how much more there is to this book than meets the eye.
- Dane Bowman
Book details
- The Other Me by Saskia Sarginson
EAN: 9780349403380
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- In My House by Alex Hourstons
EAN: 9780571316670
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- Fishing Stories for Africa by Martin Rudman, edited by Edward Truter
EAN: 9780620541541
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- Insect Farm by Stuart Prebble
EAN: 9781846883545
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