NON-FICTION

HOMELAND ELEGIES

by Ayad Akhtar, Tinder Press, £18.99, ebook £7.99

PULITZER Prizewinning playwright

Ayad Akhtar appears to be making an attempt on the Great American Novel in Homeland Elegies.

The sprawling story follows episodes in the life of Akhtar,

taking in his parents – who move to the US from Afghanistan – Partition, 9/11 and his father’s involvement with Donald Trump.

Even though the author shares similarities with the main character, a note at the start stresses it is not an autobiography.

Taking stylistic tips from Jonathan Franzen and Dave Eggers in its excitable, lengthy sentences and intermittent footnotes, Homeland Elegies remains immensely readable despite the fragmented structure.

It wrestles with questions of belonging, home and family.

FAKE LAW

by The Secret Barrister, Picador, £20, ebook £9.99

A BABY is condemned to death by British judges; a homeowner who defends his property from burglars somehow ends up being the one facing prison; an illegal immigrant cannot be deported because of his pet cat.

These stories seem familiar – but they are all untrue.

The Secret Barrister is back, and this time he or she is here to reveal the malice and incompetence behind some of the biggest legal stories of recent years.

It is a much-needed book that looks at some of the biggest myths behind the legal system.

Fans will be pleased with the latest instalment, which offers well-written insight, making difficult-to-understand laws clearer with current case studies.