BOOKS OF THE WEEK
Nineteen Steps by Millie Bobby Brown HQ, £16.99 (ebook, £7.99) Review by Ellie Iorizzo
Actress Millie Bobby Brown’s debut novel beautifully portrays her grandmother’s experience as a survivor of the 1943 Bethnal Green tube disaster, where 173 people died in a crush on the 19 steps out of an air raid shelter. Brown explores the difficult history of an often-overlooked tragedy, later recognised as the worse civilian disaster of the Second World War, through the eyes of 18-year-old protagonist Nellie Morris, as her world is ripped apart. The Hollywood author weaves a somewhat expected but nonetheless enjoyable love triangle into the storyline, with Nellie caught up with her besotted childhood best friend and a US Air Force pilot. This deeply affecting tale is a real page-turner.
The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks
Hutchinson Heinemann, £22 (ebook, £10.99) Review by Jacqueline Ling
A surrogate delivers a baby into the world – but unknown to her and the parents, he is different from the rest of the human race. While best known for historical fiction, here Sebastian Faulks takes a futuristic look at what happens when you have enough money and power to alter human genetics. It’s a clever novel which, in a world where we are seeing a rapid growth in AI, feels quite timely and unsettling. While the plot occasionally becomes too far-fetched and the ending feels a bit disappointing, there is no doubt Faulks writes beautiful and thought-provoking prose. And as is typical with so many of his books, you can’t help but fall in love with the characters he writes about.
Weirdo by Sara Pascoe Faber & Faber, £14.99 (ebook, £12.99) Review by Eleanor Barlow
Sophie has a boyfriend who she wants to break up with, a job that she doesn’t like, and a family who are dysfunctional to say the least, so when Chris walks back into her life it seems like destiny is rearing its head. But, of course, things aren’t as straightforward as that in comedian Sara Pascoe’s novel Weirdo. The story of what follows is told through Sophie’s stream of consciousness, which can be hilarious, infuriating and worryingly relatable all at the same time. This debut fiction offering from Pascoe immerses you in the life of her problematic heroine and, in spite of her admitted flaws, leaves you rooting for the “weirdo” to come out on top.
Politics on the Edge: A Memoir From Within by Rory Stewart Jonathan Cape, £22 (ebook, £10.99) Review by Tom Campbell
Former MP Rory Stewart reveals the frightening inner workings of Britain’s political system in his latest book. It starts at the height of the Brexit debate, but quickly cuts to Stewart in the Middle East a decade earlier, watching policy disasters unfold. After a teaching stint at Harvard, he returns to the UK where he finds the door to parliament ajar, partly thanks to the expenses scandal – but the limitations of being a backbench MP quickly hit home. Fast-forward five years, Stewart holds various ministerial posts, and describes the trials and tribulations of each in detail, as well as his disappointing encounters with the likes of David Cameron to Boris Johnson.