THE BOOK THAT BLEW ME AWAY

‘My book of the year isn’t a new one, but still quite a discovery: Mark Everett’s Things the Grandchildren Should Know. Usually I prefer fiction, but this memoir is written like a beautiful, sad, funny story. I’ve long admired the songwriting talent of this author, also known as E from the rock band Eels. Now I simply admire his writing, full stop.’ Marita van der Vyver, author ‘Tara Westover’s Educated is an astounding memoir. She was born into a Mormon fundamentalist family in Idaho, one of seven children. Her father was convinced the world was going to end at the stroke of the millennium. He didn’t believe in sending his children to school. Her brother was violently abusive. Westover’s story of escaping this to achieving a PhD at Cambridge is amazing.’ Deon Meyer, crime fiction author

‘The Corner That Held Them [published in 1948] by Sylvia Townsend Warner is set in a 14th-century convent in Norfolk. It’s a beautiful, bracingly tart meander through the lives of the nuns and the man who comes to live among them as a priest. It feels like a direct tap into the thoughts of a great storyteller.’ Claire Robertson, author

‘I loved But Deliver

Us From Evil by Lauri Kubuitsile. It follows the fortunes of two girls who find themselves on the wrong side of powerful people: Nthebolang has to flee when her father is accused of witchcraft, and raiders kidnap Beatrice when she’s mistaken for a missing white child. Sensitively written by an author with a deep knowledge of Botswana.’ Fiona Snyckers, author