5 new books to read this week

From India to Cyprus these books have a truly global reach…

Fiction

1. Moth by Melody Razak is published in hardback by W&N, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.99). Available now

Both a heartbreaking and heart-warming story, Melody Razak’s debut transports the reader into the home of a Brahmin family in 1940s Delhi. She navigates their beautiful yet complicated relationships as India builds up to and enters Partition. Bappu and Ma (liberals of the time) teach at Delhi University, and their daughter Alma is due to get married. But the direction of their lives – already torn between modern values and tradition – is soon turned upside down. Razak hones in on the strength and suffering of women; with moments as small as sharing stories, cooking food and plaiting hair becoming lifelines. Empathy is felt even for the more dislikeable Daadee Ma, who despite her distinctness, could be anyone’s grandmother. Moth has a backdrop of religion, politics, class and violence, but the central focus is on family life. The character portrayal is so intricate that as the plot twists and turns, you’ll truly care what happens to them.9/10(Review by Hannah Millington)

2. Songbirds by Christy Lefteri is published in hardback by Manilla Press, priced £14.99 (ebook £9.99). Available July 8

Inspired by the real life stories of domestic workers in Cyprus, Songbirds examines the prejudices faced by migrants crossing borders in search of a better life. Nisha is a loving mother forced by financial pressures to leave her daughter in Sri Lanka to work as a maid in Nicosia. One night, she disappears. Swapping between the perspectives of her employer Petra and lover Yiannis, the book pieces together her life – its loves, losses and sacrifices. Their search for answers is met by indifferent police, exposing society’s treatment of migrant women. The story deftly explores themes of freedom, motherhood, community and identity. Symbolic descriptions of the island’s landscape and wildlife provide poignant lyrical moments, while the migrant community are sensitively given a voice and the injustices they face uncovered. A moving and important read.8/10(Review by Tom Pilgrim)

3. Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce is published in hardback by Picador, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.99). Available now

A joyous story of friendship, courage and love, Yours Cheerfully sees aspiring journalist Emmeline Lake at her best when the going gets tough. In this light-hearted sequel to AJ Pearce’s debut Dear Mrs Bird Emmy takes on the challenge of becoming a wartime advice columnist, and she gets a call from the Ministry of Information to help recruit female workers to the war effort. Emmy makes friends with some factory girls with personal struggles and – with the support of faithful friend Bunty and boyfriend Charles (who is posted in England for now) – has to ultimately decide where her loyalties lie. The story is uplifting in nature, with the Blitz spirit and camaraderie between the characters shining through. The strength of the women is inspiring and can be a lesson to us all during the struggles we’re facing in this pandemic – let’s stick together and help lift each other up as best we can, no matter how hard life might get.8/10(Review by Karen Sykes)

Non-fiction

4. Consumed: A Sister’s Story by Arifa Akbar is published in hardback by Sceptre, priced £16.99 (ebook £9.99). Available now

Arifa Akbar’s story is one of sisterly love, a family trapped between two cultures, and the repeated misdiagnosis of a deadly disease. Arifa’s older sister Fauzia died a painful and unnecessary death as doctors failed to recognise she was suffering from tuberculosis – otherwise known as consumption. Consumed takes the reader down a journey of the conflicts between two countries, as Arifa’s family relocate from Pakistan to the UK and back more than once. The chief theatre critic for the Guardian, Akbar leans heavily on her work and integrates the story of TB down the ages for her first full-length book, from the suffering heroines of opera and poet Keats’ deathbed, to its resurgence in this country. Published at a time when Britain is reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, this story of sisterly love – and sometimes hate – will resonate with many. A lasting tribute to a beloved sister, it shows sometimes love is not enough.8/10(Review by Roddy Brooks)

Children’s book of the week

5. I Spy Island by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet is published in paperback by Simon & Schuster Children’s UK, priced £6.99 (ebook £4.99). Available on July 8

Imagine a world where an island and his pals play I Spy. Now imagine a world where a fish has fingers – even stranger, but not if you and your children love the work of Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet. They are the whacky duo behind the bestselling Supertato series and their latest offering, I Spy Island, continues to stretch the imagination. If you have a toddler, imagining Barry The Fish With Fingers and an island with inanimate objects as friends is easy. That is the beauty of the work of Hendra and Linnet; their words and illustrations take you away to a fantasy island where a glove, a bottle, a banana and a bird get up to the craziest fun. Who wants to find out what is in the talking treasure chest? Ask the island and friends, and prepare for the fun.8/10(Review by Roddy Brooks)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 3

HARDBACK (FICTION)1. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid2. Animal by Lisa Taddeo3. Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro4. Sunset by Jessie Cave5. Sorrow And Bliss by Meg Mason6. The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz7. The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley8. Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce9. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint10. Uzumaki by Junji Ito(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)1. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy2. The Power Of Geography by Tim Marshall3. Joe’s Family Food by Joe Wicks4. Ancestors by Alice Roberts5. Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given6. The Anglo-Saxons by Marc Morris7. Guinness World Records 2021 by Guinness World Records8. Hold Still: A Portrait Of Our Nation In 2020 by Patron Of The National Portrait Gallery9. Operation Pedestal by Max Hastings10. Why We Kneel How We Rise by Michael Holding(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)1. False Witness by Karin Slaughter2. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig4. His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet5. The Skeleton In The Closet by M. C. Beaton6. Megamonster by David Walliams7. Atomic Habits by James Clear8. Letters From The Lighthouse by Emma Carroll9. Target by Simon Kernick10. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey(Compiled by Audible)

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