Telling the story of the divergent paths of two black twins, one of whom passes for white, it is both a compulsive pageturner and a book with important things to say about race and identity. Told in dry, direct prose, it follows Edie, a young black artist who becomes involved with an older white couple, and was named winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize earlier this year.īuy it here The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennettīrit Bennett’s gripping second novel is the frontrunner to pick up this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction. Zadie Smith used to be her teacher, but now Raven Leilani is thrilling readers with her own debut novel.

One of those ‘read it in one sitting and tell all your friends’ kind of books. Meg Mason’s novel about mental health, marriage and sisterhood is told in a singular voice of wry wit and blackly comic frankness. The most recommended book of the summer, and with good reason. It begins as a razor-sharp satire of the surreal vortex of the internet and social media - described in the novel as ‘the portal’ - before being disrupted by a life-changing offline event.īuy it here Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason In poet Patricia Lockwood’s Booker shortlisted first novel, a woman becomes famous because she once tweeted ‘can a dog have twins’. It’s narrated by Klara, an ‘artificial friend’ to frail Josie, with dashes of The Remains of the Day in its study of service, and Never Let Me Go in the questions it grapples with regarding science and the soul.īuy it here No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood Hypnotic, mysterious and melancholy: all the hallmarks of a Kazuo Ishiguro novel are here in his latest, even if it is a book about creepy AI robots moving into our houses. That, of course, won’t stop it flying off the shelves the book received one of the biggest publication day launches since Harry Potter.īuy it here Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Some, including our reviewer Claire Allfree, noted that Rooney’s writing feels newly self-conscious, seemingly disillusioned by the novel form. Featuring a young, prodigious and phenomenally successful novelist who hates fame (sounds familiar), it’s been met by a mixed reaction.

The long-awaited third novel from Sally Rooney is finally here. Already described as a masterpiece in a ream of ecstatic reviews, his latest novel explores the fallout when a white South African family break a promise to a black woman who works for them.īuy it here Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney Third time’s the charm: Damon Galgut has scooped this year’s Booker Prize, after previously being shortlisted twice before. We’ve put together our edit of the most unmissable fiction hitting shelves in 2021, from Meg Mason’s Sorrow and Bliss to Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half, to help you curate your reading list. There’s an abundance of brilliant new novels arriving in bookshops this year, including a wave of exciting debuts.

Patricia lockwood sally rooney