International fiction
The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
Mat Osman’s The Ghost Theatre balances precariously between historical fiction and fantasy. Set in Elizabethan London, it features many of the historical hallmarks we know to expect, and inserts many of its own, lending the novel a unique flair. Our…
The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan
A wedding should be one of the happiest days of a person’s life, signifying a life-long commitment of love and companionship, publicly declared with those closest to you. Now, you may have one person who doesn’t want the wedding to…
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
It’s difficult to review a comedic novel that deals with trauma. So, among all the content warnings regarding reading Big Swiss, it’s best to let the characters speak for themselves on the topic. Greta, our madcap protagonist, is asked…
Mrs S by K Patrick
K Patrick’s debut novel Mrs S is a meticulously crafted triumph of queer romance shimmering with tension and sensuality. Reminiscent in some ways of a modern cross between The Getting of Wisdom and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, with a decidedly sapphic…
Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang
June Hayward has always wanted to be a writer, but she’s not so good at the whole coming up with her own ideas thing. Her friend Athena Liu, on the other hand, is a star. Her debut novel was a…
The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop
Seventeen-year-old Rachel is island-hopping with a friend in Greece when she meets charming and handsome Alistair. Rachel falls in love with him, even though he is 20 years older and insists they have to keep their relationship a secret. Flash…
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
In a near-future United States, the incarcerated people in the private prison system fight each other to the death in a bid to win their freedom. This is Chain-Gang All-Stars: a wildly popular televised ‘sport’ and the crown jewel in…
Sad Girl Novel by Pip Finkemeyer
Set in Berlin, we meet two best friends, Kim and Bel, who lead very different lives. Kim is an aspiring author, already planning the world tours, the book signings, and awards won for her novel, even though she’s rewritten the…
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
This is Tan Twan Eng’s first book in over 10 years, and the long-awaited successor to his Booker-shortlisted The Garden of Evening Mists. The story opens with Lesley Hamlyn, a widow seemingly stranded in the bright and open loneliness…
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
In 2010, Justin Cronin’s third novel, The Passage, was released into the world. The Stephen King-like apocalyptic sensation became an instant bestseller, describing a catastrophic military-engineered virus created from bats ...
Fast forward to 2023 and Cronin’s new book…
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