BEST BOOKS
Zoe West picks the best reads for you
The Exhibitionist
by Charlotte Mendelson (£16.99, Pan Macmillan, HB) The unfortunate and all-toofamiliar story of a wife setting aside her own gifts to support her husband’s career is laid bare in this award-winning novelist’s latest book. As the Hanrahans gather for a new exhibition of their father Ray’s paintings, the long-buried tensions of their messy family life erupt. Daddy’s loyal champion, Leah, lashes out at her sister Jess, while their artist mother, Lucia, charges them with treachery. Exceptional writing from Mendelson, as she examines how tiresome behaviour can tip over into tyranny.
Em & Me
by Beth Morrey (£14.99, Harpercollins, HB) Life doesn’t always go to plan, as Delphine Jones knows only too well. Her aspirational dreams stuttered to a halt when she became a teenage mother, and despite her efforts to provide for her child and her reclusive father, life is hard with little money and few prospects. As new opportunities present themselves, Delphine realises that with dedicated work and the support, friendship and love of others, she may be able to put the past behind her, turning her life around. Because sometimes you just need to be brave enough to follow that light at the end of the tunnel. Hopeful and heartwarming.
The Flames
by Sophie Haydock (£14.99, Transworld, HB)
For anyone who enjoyed the 1999 Tracy Chevalier bestseller Girl With a Pearl Earring, Sophie Haydock’s debut novel will delight and entertain. This ambitious read takes us back in time to bohemian Vienna, to the world of Gustav Klimt and his scandalous, talented protegé, Egon Schiele. Through Schiele’s four muses, Adele, Gertrude, Edith and Vally, we learn not only about their heartaches and hopes, but about the troubled artist himself. An intoxicating and evocative read full of controversy and drama. We loved it.