The Wych Elm, by Tana French
Second paragraph of third chapter:‘Are you OK?’ Melissa asked in an undertone, reaching over to squeeze my hand.
A rather good novel about young folks in an extended contemporary Dublin middle-class family, who find a mysterious death from ten years ago coming back to haunt them. The somewhat clueless narrator is very well portrayed; as a straight man, he is oblivious to the challenges faced by his two cousins, one gay and one a mother of two, and only gradually develops a clue. It's weird to realise that Gen Z have always been deep into social media as part of their world. The end did not quite work for me, but the rest did; and Dublin as a place is very well observed. You can get it here.
This was my top unread book by a woman and my top unread non-genre fiction book. Next on the first of those piles is The Empire of Gold, by S. A Chakraborty, and on the second it's Summer, by Ali Smith.
A rather good novel about young folks in an extended contemporary Dublin middle-class family, who find a mysterious death from ten years ago coming back to haunt them. The somewhat clueless narrator is very well portrayed; as a straight man, he is oblivious to the challenges faced by his two cousins, one gay and one a mother of two, and only gradually develops a clue. It's weird to realise that Gen Z have always been deep into social media as part of their world. The end did not quite work for me, but the rest did; and Dublin as a place is very well observed. You can get it here.
This was my top unread book by a woman and my top unread non-genre fiction book. Next on the first of those piles is The Empire of Gold, by S. A Chakraborty, and on the second it's Summer, by Ali Smith.