Secrets to make your hair curl

ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub (Michael Joseph £14.99, 352 pp)

INNER lives, family dynamics and sexuality in suburban modern America. Buttoned-up granny Astrid witnesses an accidental death and, realising the random nature of events, decides to seize the day.

Gathering her family, she tells them about her secret lesbian lover — wise and wonderful hairdresser Birdie. But the family members have secrets, too: daughter Porter maintains a sleazy affair with her married high school sweetheart, while granddaughter Cecelia has had to leave her school following an internet grooming disgrace.

Sent to live with Astrid, she meets transgender teenager August, who is one of the story’s best characters.

This beautifully written book delves deeply, perceptively and humorously into the contemporary human condition.

THE PULL OF THE STARS by Emma Donoghue (Picador £16.99, 304pp)

NOT the most comfortable reading in a world gripped by a pandemic, this tale of the Spanish Flu is nonetheless moving and memorable. We’re in a Dublin maternity ward for poor women where, despite death all around, nurse Julia battles to deliver new life.

She’s aided by dashing Kathleen Lynn, woman doctor, revolutionary and real historical figure, and ward skivvy Bridie, a quick-witted orphan. It’s all pretty bleak, but there is light at the end of the tunnel when, unexpectedly and painfully briefly, Julia falls in love.

Passion might bloom in the direst of circumstances, but the real theme here is poverty. There is a poetic fury to the descriptions of the patients, their lives and bodies blighted by want: they are suffering from a worse, more widespread disease even than Spanish Flu.

HOW TO MARRY YOUR HUSBAND by Jacqueline Rohen (Arrow £7.99, 400pp)

PLAYFUL, witty and beautifully written in a clever, spare fashion that’s completely original, this romcom was highly commended in the Daily Mail First Novel Competition 2018. Rohen tragically died in April this year, aged just 40.

Her book tackles that most interesting of subjects: the intimate details of someone else’s marriage. Rachel, a 34year-old events manager, has been married to sexy tech guy David for 15 years. When she sees him kissing a redhead, she thinks it’s all over.

While the kiss isn’t what it seems, it’s the start of a screwball, comic journey that sees both characters seize the wrong end of the stick at different times.

I enjoyed the plot and the colourful supporting characters, but what I adored most was the amazing wealth of high-end contemporary lifestyle detail.

From manscaping to espresso martinis, it’s all here.