CULTURE CLUB
On The Bookshelf THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE BY ABI DARÉ This word-of-mouth hit debut follows 14-year-old Adunni as she navigates life in Nigeria. Considered property and sold into a marriage to a much older man, a series of events unfold which see her fall into life as a domestic servant. Yet, she is still determined to get educated and have her own “louding” voice. The language in this book is fantastic: writer Abi Daré plays with nouns and tenses to create a totally unique voice for her protagonist, which develops as her education takes place. HANDS BY LAUREN BROWN Lauren’s life story and her struggles with dermatillomania – skin picking – are told in a free-flowing, confident voice that leads readers from subject to subject, as swiftly as thoughts can shift when wrestling with anxiety. She traces the source of her struggles and mental health challenges through her past, recounting family holidays, work situations and making numerous pop culture references that will resonate strongly with older millennials. DEATH ON THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS BY C J FARRINGTON Railway worker Olga Pushkin dreams of studying literature and becoming a writer, yet it seems unlikely that she’ll escape the provincial town of Roslazny in deepest, coldest Russia. That is, until the body of a murdered American student is pushed off the passing Trans-Siberian Express – Olga resolves to investigate the mystery. There’s even a pet hedgehog called Dmitri.
SEA OF TRANQUILITY BY EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL
This new novel from the writer of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel opens in 1912, with 18-year-old Edwin St. Andrew on a journey across the Atlantic. The third (and therefore surplus) son of an earl, his travels have been forced upon him after embarrassing his family. He slowly makes stumbling headway across the continent, hampered by inertia and lack of experience; falling in and out of company with similarly privileged, adrift gentlemen – and he seems destined for a life along these lines. That is until he travels to Vancouver Island, and the tiny rural town of Caiette. There, he stumbles into the forest, bumps into a curious priest, and experiences a reality-shattering moment which he can only describe as supernatural. The book jumps forward to 2020, and then quickly onwards to 2203, where an author (who lives on the Moon) is
beginning a book tour in New York for a novel about a pandemic – to say much more would give the game away! Yes, one aspect of the novel is about pandemics, but the outbreaks are reflected upon from a distance. It’s mainly a novel about love, connection and family ties – packed with glorious detail that creates believable existences hundreds of years in the future, on different planets to our own. The author’s ability to build worlds should be no surprise to anyone familiar with her previous works: her futures are perfectly imaginable, precisely because of the humanity contained within them, and the messy, meaningful relationships work in 1912 or 2203. Her masterfully plotted and interwoven stories lock into place with a thud, tying up loose ends you didn’t even realise had come undone. A superb read from one of the best writers of today.
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK MARCH 2022 29
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