International fiction
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is the best tennis player in the world. Until Nicki Chan ties her for most grand slam titles won. Although she’s now 38 years old and considered ‘too old’ to play, Carrie can’t just let someone take her…
The Furrows by Namwali Serpell
Memory is fallible. Cassandra (Cee) knows this. She also knows that her brother, Wayne, died in an accident when he was seven. She was 12 and looking after him at the time. She knows that a stranger tried to help…
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
It is 1560 and Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, is unsatisfied with previous portraits of Lucrezia di Cosimo de’Medici. There ought to be a painting that matches her exquisite beauty. So, shortly after Lucrezia and Alfonso are married in…
Stone Blind: Medusa’s Story by Natalie Haynes
Natalie Haynes possesses a marvellous gift for breathing vibrant new life into the oldest of stories. Her novel A Thousand Ships (which was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize in 2020) holds a firm place in my top 10 favourite books…
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
Kate Atkinson’s new novel, Shrines of Gaiety, is a delightful, if slightly sprawling book that continues the themes of her previous work, Transcription. While not specifically related, both books are historical – Shrines is set in 1926 in…
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
With a stack of bestsellers such as Mexican Gothic and Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a powerhouse in modern science fiction and fantasy. Her books are often love letters to the complex beauty of Mexico, and…
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata
The genius behind Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings, Sayaka Murata, is back with Life Ceremony, a collection of short stories that can only be described as bizarre yet captivating. Murata fans and newcomers alike are in for a…
Fight Night by Miriam Toews
Suspended from school for fighting, nine-year- old Swiv is kicking around with her exuberant grandma Elvira, an anarchic rebel with a wild anecdote for every occasion. Swiv’s mother Mooshie is busy rehearsing for a play and raging through a pregnancy…
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid is known for writing short novels with a big impact. The Reluctant Fundamentalist provided readers with a sympathetic Islamic fundamentalist in the wake of September 11. Exit West used magic realism and a love story to explore the…
Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
If you want to know why I love my job, I have two words for you: Sloane Crosley. Working at Readings means I got the inside word on Sloane Crosley. And the inside word is this woman can write –…
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