Books, recipes, puzzles and your 7-day TV guide
her heart for a COMPASS
by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Mills & Boon, £14.99, ebook £6.99
HHHII
The Duchess of York’s first novel for adults is an easy reading romance looking at the social straitjacket faced by many upper class women in Victorian England, whose lives were ruled by their father and then their husband.
Lady Margaret Montagu Scott, Ferguson’s real life greatgreat-aunt, faces marriage to a man she despises in a story mixing some real characters with fictional creations.
There are clear parallels between Ferguson’s struggles with the disciplines of royal life and Lady Margaret’s frustration with the constraints of her privileged situation. The romance may seem tame to audiences used to raunchier historical stories like Bridgerton, but it’s less predictable than some novels about love and remains an enjoyable read.
The Island Of Missing Trees
by Elif Shafak, Viking, £14.99, ebook £9.99 HHHII
Sections of The Island Of Missing Trees are told from the perspective of a fig tree – originally based in Cyprus, and then regrown in London. Through the tree and other narrators, we learn the story of 16-year-old Ada in London and the history of her parents: the Greek Kostas and Turkish Defne, who fell in love in 1970s Cyprus and had to keep their relationship secret.
Shafak has thoroughly researched the political climate of 1974 Cyprus, but often it reads more like a history lesson and the characters don’t feel fully formed until near the end.
Non-fiction Crying In h Mart by Michelle Zauner, Picador, £16.99, ebook £7.99 HHHHI
Singer Michelle Zauner’s debut is a true gut punch of a book, written in the wake of her mother’s death – exploring their strained relationship growing up and her cancer diagnosis.
Zauner recounts returning home, trying to be the ‘perfect’ daughter to a mother who is slowly fading away in an attempt to patch up the wounds of the past. Food is central to the book: Zauner desperately tries to connect with her mother’s memory through Korean cooking, and her descriptions will make your mouth water.
It’s a moving look at an imperfect mother-daughter relationship, and how heartbreaking it is to lose someone before their time.