SARA LAWRENCE
COME AND GET IT by Kiley Reid (Bloomsbury €16.79, 400pp)
REID’S phenomenal debut, Such A Fun Age, was my book of the year in 2020, so I was super excited about this second novel. I’m delighted to report it’s yet another razor-sharp, character-driven, coming-of-age story, which packs a huge emotional punch.
Set on an American university campus in 2017, it stars senior student Millie and visiting professor Agatha. Desperate to graduate and get a proper job, Millie’s biggest dream is to buy a house, so she works as many hours as she can to save a deposit.
Agatha is trying to get over a horrible breakup, but can’t stop thinking about her ex. She is interviewing students for a book and blurring many ethical boundaries using covert surveillance. Millie jumps at the chance to earn some extra cash by helping Agatha with her research, but their transactional relationship throws up questions about power, desire and consumption. Just brilliant.
PIGLET by Lottie Hazell (Doubleday €14.99, 304pp)
I RACED through this sharp, dark story about appetite, ambition, secrecy and shame. Called Piglet since she was a child, our protagonist sees getting married to wealthy, handsome Kit as the pinnacle of her self-reinvention. Thirteen days before their wedding an awful truth is revealed by Kit. Utterly destroyed, Piglet tries to press on as if everything was fine.
If anyone knew what was really going on in her life, her public image, so carefully curated over many years, would be ruined. However, this secret burns a hole so deep inside her that all she can do is eat to try to fill it up.
Despite the gorging, Piglet finds herself hollow. It’s very wise, and so wonderful on food and cooking it should probably come with a hunger trigger-warning. I loved it.
NOTHING SERIOUS by Emma Medrano (Michael Joseph €19.60, 368pp)
CARE-WORKER Nicki is in her 30s and spends a lot of time scrolling dating apps seeking random sexual encounters in a bid to forget her trauma. Amber is 17 and a college student, desperate for some kind words from her cruel mother. The only things they have in common are that they both live in Brighton and are suffering deep loneliness.
Desperate to impress the girls in her class, Amber sets up a fake Tinder profile for one of their male teachers. When the others lose interest in the prank, Amber carries on as ‘Kevin’ and connects with Nicki, who has no idea she’s messaging a teenage girl.
The narrative zips along in the alternating voices of our two protagonists as they form an unlikely friendship and the tension builds alongside. With themes of domestic violence, sexual assault and eating disorders, it’s often a sad read, but always emotionally intelligent and thought-provoking. Raw and compelling.