★★★½ – Page 8

Polar Vortex

by Shani Mootoo

Frustrating and enveloping at the same time. The conflict is bewildering and the author slides in a few questionable ideas, but her writing and the way she builds the story draws you in—she writes male entitlement and whiteness cracklingly.

A Song for a New Day

by Sarah Pinsker

Luce is a Mary Sue of a musician and the book doesn’t let up on the cheese factor, but its earnestness and apposite themes (a wide net is cast with terrorist bombings plus a pox-like epidemic leading to anti-congregation laws) make it well-aligned for lockdown reading.

Common People: An Anthology of Working Class Writers

by Kit de Waal (Editor)

Read: Jill Dawson, Louise Doughty, Katy Massey, Jodie Russian-Red, Adam Sharp, Eva Verde, Tony Walsh

Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes

by Jessica Pan

I’m largely resistant to labels, self-mythologising, and platitudes of self-help, but these aspects were balanced out with a respect for embracing uncertainty and Jessica’s comic tone.