THE BEST NEW FICTION
Kitchenly 434
Alan Warner
White Rabbit €25..65 Summer 1979 and 28-year-old Crofton Clark, who looks after the country mansion of his supposed friend, rock superstar Marko Morrell, is about to be beset by ridiculous problems of his own making involving rival accountants, a decorative stone ball and teenage girls. Narrator Clark is a pompous pedant whose behaviour becomes increasingly demented. This very funny, occasionally disturbing, unpredictable novel is as densely layered as any prog-rock organ solo. Neil Armstrong
The Split
Laura Kay
Quercus €17.99 Homeless, jobless, and newly dumped by her London girlfriend, Ally heads home to Sheffield, impulsively taking her ex’s cat. There she reconnects with childhood friend Jeremy, who’s just broken up with his boyfriend, and together they hatch a plan to revenge run a marathon. What could possibly go wrong? More than just a standard romcom but with gay characters, this nicely written, engaging debut squeezes in ambition, anxiety and cake galore.
Hephzibah Anderson
Hot Stew
Fiona Mozley
John Murray €17.99 Mozley made the Booker shortlist for her 2017 debut Elmet, set in a rural Yorkshire hideaway threatened by a ruthless property developer. She revisits her theme of capitalism’s relationship to violence in this dryly comic ensemble narrative centred around a Soho brothel building being eyed for redevelopment. Tender as well as tart, Mozley’s narration involves some two dozen characters, from prostitutes and punters to a millionaire landlord.
Anthony Cummins
Every Vow You Break
Peter Swanson
Faber €13.99
New York publishing type Abigail Baskin has fallen on her feet: after a series of hopeless boyfriends, she’s met a good-looking tech millionaire who proposes marriage within months. If only she hadn’t slept with a stranger on her hen night… Swanson skilfully builds up the tension as the newlyweds reach their honeymoon island and find trouble in paradise. An enjoyable thriller with a pleasingly acidic streak of social satire. John Williams