BOOKS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW

A STATE OF FREEDOM BY NEEL MUKHERJEE (Penguin Random House)

Mukherjee tries to answer a complex question – what happens when we attempt to exchange the life we are given for something better? Set in modern-day India, A State of Freedom tells the story of five characters born into very different circumstances. Moving between the reality of this world and the shadow of another, this novel of multiple narratives delivers a devastating exploration of the urge to strive for a different life.

ACCIDENT BY DAWN GARISCH (Modjaji Books)

Medical doctor Carol Trehorne’s son, Max, is a performance artist who specialises in installations that put him at risk in the service of his art. Accident opens with Max in ICU with severe burns, having accidentally set himself alight. Still, he has no intention of moderating his art. Carol is torn between a grudging appreciation of her son’s integrity and her horror at the possibility of him continuing to harm himself. The novel is an enthralling and insightful account of a mother-son relationship. It’s also fascinating on the subject of the differences between left and right brain dominance, as well as a thoughtful reflection on the meaning of art.

THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY BY HANNAH TINTI (Jonathan Ball)

Tinti has created a tantalising character study of a father-daughter relationship shrouded in mystery, pain and sadness. After years on the run, Samuel Hawley and his daughter, Loo, finally settle in Massachusetts. He takes up fishing while Loo struggles with teen issues and trying to piece together the puzzle surrounding her mother’s death. Narrated in part by Loo, with flashbacks to how Samuel got 12 gunshot scars, the novel tracks how their lives change irrevocably when Samuel’s criminal past catches up with them, exploding into Loo’s present with shattering consequences.