Book reviews

Islandborn Junot Diaz

With recent reports that only 4% of children’s books feature a black or ethnic minority character – not reflecting the make-up of British society – this book explores the idea of identity and belonging head on. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner and New York Times best-seller adult author Junot Diaz, this is his first foray into the world of children’s books. When her teacher asks the class to draw a picture of where they came from, Lola can’t remember the island she was born on. So she asks her friends and family what they remember. The recollections are beautiful and joyous, but also frightening and heartbreaking. What Lola comes to find is what her grandmother told her: “Just because you don’t remember a place doesn’t mean it’s not in you.” All the community’s memories of the island are also gloriously illustrated.

9/10 In A House Of Lies Ian Rankin

John Rebus clings on, lungs rattling, body raddled. Spinning another Edinburgh tale with the ex-cop as lynchpin isn’t easy, but Rankin succeeds. His latest isn’t his best, but the familiar elements line up: Sidekicks Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox, arch nemesis Cafferty, a sort of grizzled, villainous halfbrother to Rebus, and Brillo the dog. A skeleton in an abandoned car turns out to belong to a missing gay private investigator. Drugs and cheap exploitation films are involved. A different case sees Rebus sniffing out a young man jailed for inexplicably murdering his girlfriend. A good rattling read, let down only by too many unnecessary dialogue modifiers. Still, it’s always cheering to meet Rebus again, and a hint from Cafferty that Brexit is going to be a crime gold mine suggests more to come.

8/10 Enigma Variations Andre Aciman

Heartbreak, desire and loss are at the core of this novel, which charts a man’s great loves and affairs in five stories. After reading the first of those stories – about a boy’s obsession with an older man – I was slightly worried Enigma Variations would simply revisit the ground Aciman covered in his hugely successful debut, Call Me By Your Name. However, the novel then takes the reader on a journey to New York, where the protagonist pursues relationships with both men and women. Aciman’s strength is the precision with which he writes about the complexities of love and longing – his stories are all tinged with sadness, but also enormous beauty. Protagonist Paul may not always be the most likeable character, but in the end you cannot help but be moved by how his heart rules everything he does.

8/10 Melmoth Sarah Perry

Gothic and full of uneasiness, Melmoth combines many stories in the form of letters, manuscripts, diary entries and testimonies. They take in myth, legend and children’s fairy tales. Readers are transported to wartime Czechoslovakia, sweltering Manila in the 1980s, and Cairo hot and filthy in the 1930s – all anchored by Helen, a translator, whose life is deliberately small and full of self-imposed restrictions and privations. Then a friend gives her a sheaf of papers that tells of Melmoth, a wandering woman in black, who appears at your lowest ebb, to remind you of your worst and most ethically questionable moments. The terror of Melmoth may be a little hammy, but it is nonetheless an atmospheric tome that will have you examining your own morality, but not having too many nightmares, hopefully.

7/10 The Flame

Leonard Cohen It may seem strange Cohen’s got a new book out, considering he died in November 2016, but here comes The Flame – a final collection of his poems and sketches. He’s most famous as a musician, but his poetry is equally powerful. This anthology was conceived by the man himself and includes work he created in the run-up to his death. The introduction is written by Cohen’s son, Adam, and in it he describes the Canadian singer’s battle to complete the book. I suggest that the book suffers from a lack of artwork, but the imagery that is included is a delight. Cohen was a visionary and although I’m not sure this tome is his greatest legacy, it documents his creativity to the end in a fascinating way. It may also offer something to fans still looking for closure now Cohen’s own flame has been snuffed out.