Irvine Welsh, author<\/p>\n
The user-friendly short chapter format of Nicci Cloke\u2019s Her Many Faces, designed for our internet-lowered attention spans, obscures the fact that this page-turning, multiple viewpoint thriller is actually a densely plotted novel full of amazing twists. This is the book you want to take on a long, boring journey you\u2019re dreading. You\u2019ll pray you finish it before you arrive at your destination.<\/p>\n
A Family Matter<\/a> by Claire Lynch is a moving tale of a family fractured by love and kept apart by a reactionary state, partly set in the UK in the 80s. Beautifully observed. I sense a big movie in this.<\/p>\n Rapture\u2019s Road<\/a> by Se\u00e1n Hewitt is amazing writing of breathtaking power. One of those poetry collections where, in the internet\/AI era, you feel the bone-crunching, heart-scorching humanity in almost every sentence.<\/p>\n Partly a poem, partly an extended narrative through our desperate times, Corpse Flower by Johny Brown goes with incredible boldness and clarity to where few others venture. An instant urban classic.<\/p>\n Men in Love by Irvine Welsh is published by Jonathan Cape (\u00a320). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com<\/a>. Delivery charges may apply.<\/p>\n Gerald, Guardian reader<\/p>\n I thought The Emperor of Gladness<\/a> by Ocean Vuong was quite wonderful \u2013 a celebration of ordinary lives in an ordinary place. It has been described as \u201ctender\u201d which it profoundly is. It is both sad and very funny. A poet, Vuong has an unerring ability to choose the right word. Although the book is 400 pages long I found myself reading it slowly to keep enjoying it.<\/p>\n Barbara Kingsolver, author<\/p>\n One of my favourite recent reads is Heartwood<\/a> by Amity Gaige, a fictional account of an urgent search for a lost hiker in the Maine woods. Through its unique structure and beautiful writing, it pulls off the impossible trick of being both meditative and suspenseful.<\/p>\n The Great Believers<\/a>, a novel by Rebecca Makkai, is an exquisitely sad and beautiful reckoning for a generation of men we lost in the 1980s \u2013 not to war, but to a deadly epidemic the world tried to ignore: Aids.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Soldier Sailor<\/a>, by Claire Kilroy, is a novel I read entirely in one sitting, holding my breath. It\u2019s essential reading for anyone who has ever felt swallowed alive by caring for a child. And, also, for anyone who hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n