Life

5 new books to read this week

This week’s bookcase includes reviews of We Do Not Part by Han Kang and Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson.

By Ella Walker, PA

2024 Nobel Prize winner Han Kang’s latest novel has now been translated into English…

Fiction

We Do Not Part by Han Kang is published in hardback by Hamish Hamilton, priced £18.99 (ebook £9.99). Available February 6

Recent events have surely punctured any casual impression of South Korea as a model of political stability. The Nobel Prize going to South Korean author Han Kang last year, followed by the English-language publication of her most recent novel, throws further light on the nation’s shrouded trauma. Kyungha, the narrator in We Do Not Part, is a journalist whose research brought her to collapse. She is asked by a hospitalised friend to pet-sit at her isolated house on the island of Jeju. A snowstorm nearly derails her journey, and her visit becomes a shivering reverie in which she learns of the terrible violence wrought there in the 1940s before the Korean War’s outbreak – and its impact on her friend’s family. The result occasionally feels like a history lesson bookended by a ghost story, but both parts are compelling and address with moving imagery the real impact the dead and missing have on the living.

(Review by Joshua Pugh Ginn)

8/10

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson is published in hardback by Michael Joseph, priced £16.99 (ebook £7.99). Available February 6

This multigenerational story charts the path of a beloved jar made by an enslaved potter; from its beginnings as wet clay to the moment it shatters in horrifying circumstances in the home of a wealthy African American family, who live in an almost wholly white Connecticut neighbourhood. The jar’s life unspools around Ebby’s, whose wedding plans also shatter in spectacular public fashion. She jumps on a plane to France, planning to regroup in private, but her ex, Henry, turns up with a new girlfriend. His arrival doesn’t just throw everything into disarray again, it also raises questions around the devastating day the jar was toppled during a robbery gone wrong. Wilkerson expertly tackles grief, trauma and the drive to live as you wish, in spite of your family’s expectations and your community’s barely concealed racism. The dialogue at times is a little stilted and formal, but there are also searing chapters that push your tear ducts to the absolute limits.

(Review by Ella Walker)

8/10

To Pay The Ferryman by Pat Black is published in paperback by Polygon, priced £9.99 (ebook £4.99). Available February 6

Scotland is the backdrop to this classic murder mystery. A series of brutal attacks against young women share similarities with a cold case that Detective Inspector Lomond remembers from the start of his career. His efforts to find a serial killer are hampered by the secretive world of art and protests over the lack of an arrest. The victims willingly got into a car before their mobile phones were disabled and they were taken to a remote house to be killed, leading police to believe they must have known their attacker. With help from his trusty sidekick Detective Sergeant Slater, he gradually narrows down the number of suspects, without realising how close the killer is to his own family. To Pay The Ferryman is laced with traditional Scottish police humour – awful coffee, nicknames for Lomond after he fell in the river – and has the most dramatic ending. Glasgow-born Pat Black is the author of several thrillers and this is a fine addition to his expert storytelling.

(Review by Alan Jones)

7/10

Non-fiction

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates is published in hardback by Hamish Hamilton, priced £18.99 (ebook £9.99). Available February 6

We are utterly surrounded by information, but how many of us are willing to question the myths we’re so often fed? In The Message, readers join world-renowned author Ta-Nehisi Coates on his journey to three sites of conflict – Dakar, South Carolina and Palestine. When sharing his thoughts on these travels, Coates makes a compelling argument for why we need to educate ourselves, seek clarity, and not lose our morals. He urges us to have tough conversations, question what we read and understand the power of writing in politics. The Message is a must-read for everyone. It’s thought-provoking and a wake-up call for the world.

(Review by Maryam Munir)

9/10

Children’s book of the week

Marty Moose: First Class Mischief by Claire Powell is published in paperback by Walker Books, priced £6.99 (ebook £5.22). Available February 6

Marty Moose is actually a mouse whose name was changed by a stray splodge of ink on his birth certificate, but it doesn’t stop him following in the footsteps of his Great Aunt Ada, known as the greatest ever postmouse. She escaped after being caught and almost cooked in a pie, but Marty has an even more dramatic adventure on his first day delivering post round Little Ditch. He bumps into a crazy rabbit called Nibbles Frizzby who unwittingly leads him into danger in the form of two scary toads who fancy a rodent for dinner. Marty and Nibbles stage an ingenious escape and turn their attention to playing a trick on a sneaky shrew called Cyril who cheats his way to being awarded post office employee of the month. Marty celebrates his first class first day with a well earned jam sandwich to round off a charming story full of fun, surprises and lots of alliteration. Newly confident readers will love Claire Powell’s drawings which bring Marty and other animal characters to life.

(Review by Alan Jones)

7/10

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 1

HARDBACK (FICTION)

1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

2. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

3. The Lamb by Lucy Rose

4. Quicksilver by Callie Hart

5. The Seventh Floor by David McCloskey

6. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

7. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

8. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

9. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

10. In Too Deep: Jack Reacher by Lee Child and Andrew Child

(Compilled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)

1. Easy Air Fryer by Jamie Oliver

2. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

3. What’s Your Dream? by Simon Squibb

4. The Nazi Mind: Twelve Warnings From History by Laurence Rees

5. The DOSE Effect by TJ Power

6. Want:Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous by Gillian Anderson

7. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

8. The Food For Life Cookbook by Tim Spector

9. Open When…:A Companion for Life’s Twists & Turns by Julie Smith

10. A Pawtobiography:My adventures on Gone Fishing by Ted the Dog

(Compilled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)

1. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

2. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

3. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

4. Poison Garden by L J Ross

5. What’s Your Dream? by Simon Squibb

6. Atomic Habits by James Clear

7. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

8. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

9. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

10. Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood

(Compilled by Audible)