Book review: New books to read right now
From a harrowing tale of a lost childhood to a gripping thriller with unpredictable twists and turns, here are five excellent page-turners to add to your to-read pile.
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THE LOUDNESS OF UNSAID THINGS
Hilde Hinton
Hachette, $30
Susie is a little girl lost.
It’s hard not to feel your heart break as loneliness, confusion and so many unsaid things dog a childhood unfairly complicated by adult problems and tragedy.
This impressive debut novel by Hilde Hinton, sister of actor Samuel Johnson and late cancer research crusader Connie Johnson, has been rightly compared to the acclaimed Boy Swallows Universe and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
Susie’s dad suddenly uproots her from their home in 1970s Daylesford to return to Melbourne, her unpredictable mum has stints at “mind hospitals”, school throws up a barrage of stumbling blocks, and she struggles to make friends and find her place in the world.
But despite having to deal with dysfunctional family life, mental illness and regular growing-up fears, Susie manages to find some hope, laughs and lifetime memories, albeit not all positive.
Susie’s story is told alongside the musings of Miss Kaye, who works at The Institute, mentoring and listening to damaged and dangerous “clients” who have also struggled to fit in.
As we endure coronavirus-required separation from social contact, this is a timely look at the lives and minds of those for whom isolation is an everyday fact of life. CARINA BRUCE
Verdict: Says so much
ELLY
Maike Wetzel
Scribe, $24.99
Usually a book about a missing child would be a thriller, following the tense struggle of the authorities in their search and the false trails they pursue.
But in this book by German author Maike Wetzel, it the anguish caused by the disappearance of 11-year-old Elly that we pursue.
The reader stays in the head of the parents, Hamid and Judith, and older sister Ines throughout, creating not just the sense of loss but also the way that such a traumatic event can tear a family to pieces while the participants remain physically close.
This moving from head to head gives the illusion of time standing still while the minds are moving simultaneously at the speed of light and the slow of darkness.
It is also a place where a sliver of hope can lead to blindness. BARRY REYNOLDS
Verdict: Head over heals
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Macmillan, $30
Thriller queens Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have come up with another gripping teaser guaranteed to keep your mind ticking over and heart racing.
Data analyst Shay Miller has a stat to match everything happening in her world – all painstakingly recorded in a dedicated diary.
But she is also lonely, sleep-deprived and desperate to be loved and to find a fulfilling job.
After a tragic turn of events, she finds herself at a funeral where a pair of seemingly perfect sisters kindly move in to fill some of the holes in Shay’s life.
Suddenly everything is working out perfectly, with Cassandra and Jane Moore somehow able to anticipate and meet Shay’s every need.
But is it an ideal life or just a perfect storm for the usually vigilant analyst?
Without spoiling the thrills, let’s just say twists keep coming until the end, as they did with Hendricks and Pekkanen’s previous hits The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl. CARINA BRUCE
Verdict: A riveting fast read
FATHOMS
Rebecca Giggs
Scribe, $35
You have to feel for whales in an increasingly contaminated world.
As mammals, they come to the surface to fill their lungs with sometimes-polluted air.
Then, holding their breath for up to two hours, they swim down swallowing plastic in their search for food.
While that is happening, chemicals in the water from runoffs along some coastlines is seeping into the thick blubber that keeps them warm.
Consequently, when they finally die, choking or overheating on a beach somewhere, they provide a wealth of information about the changing nature of our oceans.
With remarkable detective work, Giggs explores the habitats and migratory patterns of whales to reveal a great deal about them, and even more about us.
It is a hauntingly beautiful examination of the moral force of animals, offering hope as well as despair. JEFF MAYNARD
Verdict: Probes deep
REDHEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
Anne Tyler
Chatto & Windus, $30
Micah Mortimer runs a small computer business called Tech Hermit, and most would agree the name is apt for a man who lives alone and who is so very quiet and orderly.
He’s a gentle soul, who keeps to his schedule and keeps things clean. His relationship, though, is feeling a bit messy.
One day a young man – Brink – arrives at his door, with the mistaken belief that Micah is his father.
Brink’s mother was Micah’s girlfriend at college, but he’s sure he’s not the boy’s dad.
Still, Brink insinuates himself into Micah’s house for the night, a decision that becomes supremely disruptive to all aspects of Micah’s life.
As things return to normal, all these events rattle about in his head.
He has other options, but are they what he wants?
At 178 pages, this is not much more than a novella from Tyler, and I initially felt a bit cheated by the abrupt ending.
But it has all of Tyler’s usual charm and insight, and it is a complete – and very enjoyable – story in its own right. CORINNA HENTE
Verdict: A little gem
Originally published as Book review: New books to read right now