Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (Bloomsbury, \u00a316.99)<\/p>\n
Patrick Ryan\u2019s emotionally engaging and psychologically astute novel follows two couples over the course of\ufeff 30 years. Cal\u00a0Jenkins marries local girl\ufeff Becky, who\u2019s able to communicate with the dead. Meanwhile, Margaret Salt, abandoned as a baby by her mother, marries Felix in a bid for security and intimacy. An affair brings the two couples into one another\u2019s orbit, as the protagonists deal with the moral complexities of war, grief, parenthood and sexuality, in a beautifully observed and deeply\u00a0affecting novel.<\/p>\n
Duet: An Artful History of\u00a0Music by\u00a0Eleanor Chan (Duckworth, \u00a325)<\/p>\n
From an 18,000-year-old ornate conch shell to the costume Beyonc\u00e9 wore to the 2017 Grammys\ufeff, Eleanor Chan\u2019s highly original thesis examines the connection between music and art throughout history. She reveals how the visual and the audible have always been inextricably linked, from decorated caves as the first music venues to the development of written musical notation and elaborately designed \ufeffinstruments. She also highlights a multitude of artists, from Degas to Aubrey Williams, who\u2019ve attempted to visualise our relationship to music.<\/p>\n
Lost Wonders: 10 Tales of\u00a0Extinction from the 21st\u00a0Century by Tom Lathan (Picador, \u00a310.99)<\/p>\n
If it is the case that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event, Tom Lathan\u2019s book could not be more timely or more important. Focusing on \ufeff10 little known extinctions from the 21st century, from a Malaysian micro snail to a pipistrelle bat, Lathan combines natural history with stories of both destruction and discovery, and interviews those who are still engaged in efforts to protect nature. Brimming with passion and meticulous research, it\u2019s infused with a\u00a0note of quiet optimism.<\/p>\n