By Bayley Cornfield, Genevieve Bernard, Laura Riordan and Meg Jones
Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley March 18, Hodder & Stoughton
Set in contemporary Soho London, this gritty novel sees us join the residents of a crumbling London townhouse in their chaotic fight to save the house in which they live. Under threat from the wealthy and ruthless building owner who plans to sell it to property developers to tear down and replace it with luxury flats, the inhabitants must fight to save the place they call home and battle to stop the erasure of Soho’s colourful and vivid history. A fast-paced novel that explores a clash of cultures and the darker side of conflicts between social strata. The drama unfolds through a plethora of different characters' perspectives, ranging from prostitutes Tabitha and Precious, to Agatha the money-hungry property owner. We come to understand the interwoven nature of human lives, and the importance placed on an individual’s standing in society.
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
March 23, Swoon Reads
From the New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys comes an intricate and nostalgic Young Adult novel following a young girl forced to confront her past. Five years after her brothers’ disappearances, Wendy still can’t remember what happened the day they went into the woods. But she can’t move on, not when more children have started to vanish. Questions Wendy can’t answer begin to resurface and the decision over whether to confront her past or run from it is taken out of her hands when she finds an unconscious boy lying in the road. She can’t turn down Peter’s request for help, even if it means returning to the woods.
Common Ground by Naomi Ishiguro March 25, Headline Publishing Group
In this touching new novel from the author of Escape Routes, two old friends must reckon with their sense of identity and loyalty, when the differences that brought them together as children push them apart as adults.
Trying to fit in at a new school in the wake of his father’s death, Stan feels more isolated than ever before – until he meets Charlie. Bold and self-assured, he is the antithesis of everything that Stan has learnt to be, yet the two develop a friendship that seems certain to endure. Years later, when their paths cross again in London, the men have switched places. This time it is Charlie who needs Stan – but with their childlike innocence lost to the harsh realities of adulthood, can the two find common ground once more?
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
March 30, Pan Macmillan
Gabriela Garcia’s Of Women and Salt is a beautiful and haunting story about three generations of inspiring and tenacious women, all struggling with the choices they have made and the consequences of their decisions. Jeanette, the daughter of Cuban immigrant, Carmen, is determined to understand her family history and travels all the way to Cuba to get the answers she needs from her grandmother. While Carmen, still traumatised from displacement, must deal with her complicated relationship with her own mother as well as her rebellious daughter. Each of these women have stories to tell and in this captivating and complicated account of family history, they will finally have a chance to do just that.
First Person Singular: Stories by Haruki Murakami (Translated by Philip Gabriel) April 6, Vintage
A stunning collection of eight short stories, each one told in the first person, from the internationally acclaimed author of 1Q84 and Killing Commendatore. Whether the narrator is reminiscing about the lost days of his youth à la Norwegian Wood, meditating on jazz music and baseball games, or paying homage to Franz Kafka (you have probably heard of Kafka on the Shore), each tale is classically Murakami – nostalgic, enigmatic and a little bit magical. Blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction and expertly blending the familiar and unfamiliar, First Person Singular is the perfect introduction to one of Japan’s biggest literary figures.