Literary

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson, Bloomsbury Circus

Escape to the idyllic Greek island of Hydra in this mesmerising novel by UK novelist and lyricist Polly Samson. Following the death of their mother, siblings Erica and Bobby head to this remote corner of paradise where they dive into the arty set – which includes her mum’s great mates, famous Australian writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, and a bohemian circle of friends. At the heart of the group is charismatic Norwegian writer Axel Jensen and his wife, Marianne, who catches the eye of a young poet, Leonard Cohen. For fans of the ’60s’ music icon this is a glorious chance to bathe in nostalgia; it’s also a beautifully written tale, deftly combining reallife people in a fictional plot that quivers in the heat of a Greek summer.

THE SALT MADONNA by Catherine Noske, Picador

Chesil is a remote fictional island off the coast of Western

Australia, where creeping economic collapse and an exodus of young people have brought dark times. Hannah, our narrator, managed to get out but then came back to nurse her dying mother and is now working as a teacher. Her childhood community is falling apart at the seams, the men out of work, children with no direction and an underbelly of violence threatening. This is a powerful, evocative tale set against a rugged landscape watched over by ancient cypress trees.

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler, Penguin

This tender love story is also about our need for meaningful connectedness, and while Micah Mortimer is an unusual protagonist, there is also an everyman quality to his woeful attitude to romantic attachments. Micah is a creature of habit and maintains an organised life that fulfils his selfish needs. He runs at 7.15am, followed by a morning working as a freelance IT consultant and the afternoon as the caretaker of the apartment building he lives in. But Micah’s world is thrown off kilter when the son of his college girlfriend turns up, claiming Micah as his father. When Micah lets the boy crash in his apartment, Cas, his “woman friend” – Micah refuses to call her his girlfriend – breaks up with him. Micah is shocked but it prompts a rethink of his past relationships, and for the first time he realises an alarming pattern.

Will Micah ever be capable of real love?

HAMNET by Maggie O’Farrell, Hachette

When bestselling author Maggie O’Farrell was studying Hamlet at school, her teacher mentioned that the playwright had a son called Hamnet who died age 11, some four years before Shakespeare wrote the play. Hamnet was a twin and this was Maggie’s inspiration for a heartbreaking story which grabs you from the first page.