Although each of these stories is beautifully written, they do not leave much behind for the reader.

However, the house is in disrepair, and to sell it he needs to spend longer in the aptly named town of Solace. Would you allow your child to spend time with a neighbour if you knew they’d had mental health issues? Also, Fortune(Peepal Tree Press) , by Amanda Smyth, another historic novel, a clandestine love story set amid Trinidad’s early oil drilling years in the 1920s.Now and then, a family member will disappear, and no one will know where they have gone, or if they will ever come back. Lawson beautifully portrays how these three characters touch each other lives in ways that are filled with love and care. Only on his third novel, but already with a second Booker nomination, Sahota is a significant voice. The books world has long complained about the Booker’s decision to open its doors to American authors. A French-language edition of Crow Lake was translated by Cécile Arnaud, was published as Le choix des Morrison by Belfond in 2003.

Told through three distinct, compelling points of view, the novel cuts back and forth among these unforgettable characters to uncover the layers of grief, remorse, and love that connect them. Anyone who has ever longed for parenthood will relate to her despair and her willingness to find someone who might soak up all the love that she has to give. How absolutely gratifying to see a mind at work like Srinivisan’s, handling the profane and the erudite with equal clear, unflinching diamond prose.The genius of the author is how she takes the narrative of hatred and discrimination hurled at her and turns it upside down by “going back to where she is from” – the landscapes of the north. Authentic compelling characters, simple understated but superb writing style, and a profound understanding of the human heart. Let the Record Show (Farrar) by Sarah Schulman is profoundly moving, as most are, but also does the important work of reasserting the place of women and people of colour in the history of Act Up. Was Elizabeth wrong to allow Clara in her house, without having discussed her previous mental health issues with Clara’s parents?