International fiction
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
Life in Pitchaya Sudbanthad’s Bangkok is neither fair nor unfair: ‘it is only so,’ goes the mantra, reminding us that these events, the passing of old to new, the rise and fall of life and a nation, are as inevitable…
In/Half by Jasmin B. Frelih
Twenty-five years into the future, the earth has been ripped apart by a glitch in the global communications system. What remains is a world at once completely outside human possibility and alarmingly close to the pressing fears of our decade…
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
Reading The Dreamers leading up to Christmas, I’ll admit that a book about people drifting into a seemingly peaceful and prolonged sleep had its appeal. This is, however, no fairytale but a contemporary novel revolving around a viral outbreak in…
Loyalties by Delphine de Vigan
Delphine de Vigan has been flavour of the month in Paris these past couple of years, especially after her book Based on a True Story topped the bestseller lists. And with the release of her new book Loyalties, this French…
You Know You Want This by Kristen Roupenian
As with many explosions on the internet, I was a little slow to smell the fire caused by Kristen Roupenian’s short story, ‘Cat Person,’ when it appeared in the New Yorker in December 2017. Thankfully, I’m now caught up. That…
The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea
Caroline Lea sets her novel of intrigue and deception against the cold backdrop of an isolated rural community in 1686 Iceland. The novel follows Rosa after she agrees to marry a wealthy stranger. Moving to his village, away from everything…
Louis and Louise by Julie Cohen
Lou Alder is one person, but exists in two separate realities: one in which he is Louis, and one in which she is Louise. The prolific Julie Cohen’s latest book is a Sliding Doors-esque tale, exploring what a person’s…
An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma
Chigozie Obioma received international acclaim for his first novel The Fishermen, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2015, won several international prizes for emerging writers, and led him to be named as one of Foreign Policy…
Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
We live in an era where we get told to accept who we are and show it – but is that really true for people of colour? We ask them to whitewash themselves to appear successful and to fit in…
Ohio by Stephen Markley
In the post-9/11 era, foreign wars, financial meltdowns, diminishing opportunities, and increasing alienation have shaped the United States of America. A generation of young people have come of age in the shadow of the collapse of the Twin Towers –…
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