Our editor Imogen Marshall breaks down her November 2021 reads, from a slew of Christina Lauren reads to Helen Walsh and some 2022 books.
1. The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
Following her award-winning novel The Buddha in the Attic, Julie Otsuka’s forthcoming 2022 release is a devastating portrayal of the relationship between a mother and daughter, as a mother succumbs to dementia. It’s a precisely written novel, full of emotional weight. The first part of the book focusses on the almost cult-like mania around a swimming pool – each who only know each other as a result of the pool and their separate focusses. When a crack forms on the bottom of the pool and the pool is consequently closed, the swimmers are forced back to their separate realities. One of the swimmers is Alice who is falling prey to dementia.
Narrated by Alice’s daughter, The Swimmers then breaks down Alice’s decline and the effects of her illness and loss on her daughter. It is a commanding novel, though doubtless not for everyone.
Pick up a copy of the novel here.
To be released on 24th February 2022
2. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia
Silvia Moreno Garcia’s 2020 novel is a deliciously thrilling and propulsive novel. Glamorous debutante, Noemí Taboada receives a letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom and heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. Noemi is no pushover but as she comes to realise all is not normal at High Place. Her cousin’s new husband is menacing as is his father’s odd fascination with Noemí, more than anything though she experiences strange nightmares in this inhospitable house. Mexican Gothic is an enigmatic page-turner of a Gothic novel, masterfully handled.
Pick up a copy of the novel here.
3. The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
The Soulmate Equation may just be the best Christina Lauren novel to date. With their signature writing style, crammed full of witty and sparkling banter, the writing duo craft this gorgeous love story between Jess and River. After Jess decides on a whim to join GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever by finding your soulmate through DNA, she attains the unheard-of 98% compatibility with GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. GeneticAlly offer to pay her in return for Jess to get to know River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could prove GeneticAlly’s worth, sparks fly between the unlikely pair.
Pick up a copy of the novel here.
4. Pull Focus by Helen Walsh
Helen Walsh – the founder and president of Diaspora Dialogues and a former film / digital media producer – has released her debut novel – Pull Focus, a dizzyingly pacy thriller that infuses a huge amount of issues into its pages to create a complex and interesting novel.
The book centres around Jane who has been appointed as interim director of the Worldwide Toronto Film Festival after her boss has been removed for sexual harassment. No easy role, but made the more complicated when her partner goes missing and she is repeatedly threatened by strange women at the festival. In the dark as to what is going on with her partner and facing a numerous amount of fires to burn during the festival itself, Jane works to understand who are her true allies and enemies in this complicated fabric of the film and finance industry.
Read our full review here.
Pick up a copy of the novel here.
5. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
The Unhoneymooners went viral on TikTok this year – deservedly so, it’s a deliciously light and propulsive read. Christina Lauren are masters of their craft and the proof is here, in their ability to craft characters and storylines that are as addictive as any TV show.
The protagonists in The Unhoneymooners are Olive and Ethan. Olive has always been unlucky – unlike her twin sister Ami. However, her luck looks like it is set to turn at Ami’s wedding when the entire wedding, minus Olive and her sworn enemy and the best man – Ethan – gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish. So as to not put Ami’s honeymoon to waste, Olive and Ethan set off on the free vacation that gets more complicated from a series of unfortunate run-ins.
Pick up a copy of the novel here.
6. Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth
Adults is a hilarious read, almost uncomfortable in its candid and painfully accurate notations. The novel centres around Jenny who at thirty-five owns her own house, writes for a cool magazine and has hilarious friends just a message away, but all of these have downsides – she can’t actually afford her house, her best friend Kelly is clearly trying to break up with her, she spends half her life on social media looking at lives more glamorous than her own. Adults is a painfully accurate (at times) portrayal of young life and the curveballs life can throw at you.
Pick up a copy of the novel here.
7. Magpie by Elizabeth Day
In a literary world, where many thrillers seem to follow a formula, this novel pulls the rug out from under you. Magpie is a dizzying story that moves with so much pace told in Elizabeth Day’s taut, razor-sharp prose. Day is a master storyteller and this is an immensely propulsive read-in-a-day read for a cozy winter’s evening, as she narrates the story of Marissa and Kate in a story of infertility, insecurities and ramifications. We loved it.
Read our full review here.
Pick up a copy of the novel here.
