The long hot days of summer are the perfect time to get lost in a good book. Luckily, there are some brilliant new releases out this month, from thrilling page-turners to family dramas.
And Notre Dame Is Burning by Moriam Robinson
Reading a novel that feels genuinely fresh is rare – especially in a debut – but this stunning story of a woman’s grief pulls it off. Told through letters and fragments of memories, the protaganist Esther reflects on the end ofher marriage after a miscarriage and the discovery of her husband’s multiple betrayals.
Esther’s words are mostly addressed to Noa Lynn, the baby she miscarried, while others are for her daughter Annie, her husband, Ravi, and the women she feels have invaded her life thanks to Ravi’s infidelities. Slowly, a picture builds of a woman hanging on to the pieces of her life, trying to make sense of the shattering of everything she thought she knew.
Author Miriam Robinson stretches and concertinas time, echoing Esther’s unravelling after her double loss. The narrative jumps backwards and forwards: we learn about her move to Paris in her 20s and the loneliness she felt then; the first time she met her husband; and the birth of her daughter. Esther and Ravi’s story begins and ends in the shadow of Notre-Dame – the couple meet at an English bookshop in the French capital and decide to divorce as the cathedral goes up in flames.
The emotions portrayed are raw and real, submerging the reader deep into the story. Robinson has said the book started as a way for her to offload as her own marriage came to an end, and that undoubtedly brings an authenticity to the words. She’s particularly good at capturing the guts and gore of motherhood: the physicality of childbirth is vividly described, the guilt Esther feels for depriving her daughter of a sibling is unflinchingly honest and her yearning for Annie when she’s with her father is visceral.
While the novel tackles tough subjects, there’s also a dry humour in Esther’s words. Funny asides break the fourth wall, which in another book might ruin the flow but works well here, where we’re so immersed in Esther’s thoughts. The writing is stunning, using clever imagery (a buttered knife stuck into a jam jar illustrates how it feels to have her husband’s mistress in her life) that stays with you.
It’s a novel of many layers, like a beautiful millefeuille pastry you’d buy in a fancy Parisian patisserie. The enduring image at the end is of a woman piecing herself back together– bruised, but not defeated.
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner
Amy’s older sister, beautiful and charismatic Ollie, has always been her north star. But when Ollie is sent awayto a facility as a teenager, something shifts in their bond, which they spend the next 20 years trying to build again. A sensitive explorationof loving someone with mental health issues, with characters you’ll fall for.
Rules Of The Heart by Janice Hadlow
The author of The Other Bennet Sister (which is currently being adapted for TV by the BBC) returns with an 18th-century love story, inspired by real events. Lady Harriet Bessborough risks everything when she starts an affair with a man 12 years her junior in this entertaining historical fiction with Jane Austen vibes.
Bloody Awful In Different Ways by Andrev Walden
A hit in its native Sweden, this gem follows seven-year-old Andrev, who finds out that the man he calls Dad isn’t his real father. As a conga line of new ‘dads’ passes through his life, Andrev navigates becoming a man. With a distinctive narrative voice, this deftly balances humour and sadness.
Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian
This campus novel, set at a university in upstate New York, is a fun, fresh read. Simone is a star lecturer while her husband, Ethan, a failed novelist, is happy to play adoring second fiddle – until their slightly smug marriage is thrown into chaos when they spend a summer apart.
Loved One by Aisha Muharrar
When Julia’s best friend and first love Gabe dies, she offers to help his mother retrieve some of his belongings – a mission that takes her from LA to London and into the life of Gabe’s most recent ex. A moving, thoughtful exploration of love and loss that asks interesting questions about who grief belongs to.
LA Women by Ella Berman
If complicated female friendships are your literary bag, you’ll enjoy this compelling novel, which is loosely based on the turbulent relationship between Eve Babitz and Joan Didion (last year’s Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik is a fascinating non-fiction take on this). Los Angeles makes the perfect glittering backdrop to the unfolding drama.
