CULTURE CLUB
BY HOLLY BOURNE PRETENDING
It wouldn’t be inaccurate to describe Pretending as a modern romance, but that feels slightly misleading – this is not an easy read, but it is an important one. First published in 2020 and now available in paperback, the book follows April as she and her flatmate navigate life in London and the peaks and troughs of contemporary dating. Yet another disastrous series of dates leads April to rise up against the unacceptable expectations of the men using these apps: she decides to invent Gretel, her idea of the perfect woman, and begins pretending to be Gretel online. Cool, insouciant and undemanding, it isn’t long before Gretel lures in a catch. By night, April is Gretel: yet by day she continues her work at a sex and relationships charity, where she replies to anonymous emails sent in by people who’ve been assaulted, but have nowhere else to turn. April has also had a similar experience with a past boyfriend, and the compounding effect of dealing with others’ trauma while attempting to bottle up her own – well you can imagine how well that goes. But as her story
The Future
unfolds, you will find yourself rooting for April as she attempts to unpick the cocoon she’s built around herself. Unsettling and yet also hilarious in places, this novel serves as a good companion piece to conversations started by Prima Facie , the one-woman play written by Suzie Miller and the award-winning production starring Jodie Comer that took the world by storm. Bourne lays out some huge themes of trauma, consent and assault, and the characters’ conversations will leave you grim-faced at the statistics, yet also hopeful that there are many people out there working to unpick the damage.
BY NAOMI ALDERMAN You might know Naomi Alderman from The Power or you might have sprinted around our city to Zombies, Run! , the exercise adventure app for which she provided storylines. But even if this is your first encounter with her work, you should put her new book straight on your reading list. The story opens in the moments shortly after big tech billionaires have been alerted to the imminent end of the world, thanks to the AI and statistics software that they own – but crucially, it is still days before the public will become aware of the encroaching disaster. This advance notice gives the executives enough time to get to their bunkers – but in the background, a few of their closest associates have been wondering if the decisions and attitudes of these industry leaders might be the reason society is now facing collapse. Is there anything they can do to alter what seems to be an inevitable future? Strap yourself in for a gripping thriller that confronts issues around AI, power hoarding and wealth imbalance – and get ready for the mother of all twists.
This dream of a novel has sold over one million copies in South Korea and is beloved in its home country. Now available in translation for the first time, it follows Penny, a new hire at the eponymous department store which, simply put, supplies sleepers with dreams. This is Penny’s dream job and she quickly settles in, gets to know her colleagues and tries to establish the mysterious chains of command between the fantastical creatures which run the different departments. Penny meets with the dream makers themselves, respected artisans who craft dreams to solve problems, create romance or unlock secrets. It gradually becomes clear that the department store exists in a dream world, where sleepers arrive before they start dreaming to select their night’s adventure or be given helpful hints by those who work in the store – sometimes the dreamers arrive unsuitably attired, and have to be given pyjamas or nightgowns to wear. We’re also treated to the results of the dreams out in the real world, where people suddenly remember forgotten facts or fall in love with new acquaintances. Heavy on delightful ‘magical admin’, the book sees dreamers pay for their experiences with much-sought-after emotions, which can then be used to craft ever-more-complex nighttime imaginings. The perfect wintry read for those who love fantasy. BY MI-YE LEE DALLERGUT DREAM DEPARTMENT STORE
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK JANUARY 2024 21
Powered by FlippingBook