Books DPS.qxp_Layout 7 23/09/2020 10:27 Page 1
BOOKS
Autumn leaves
As the new season approaches, more than ever we envision ourselves escaping into book after book and devouring different perspectives to broaden our horizons from home. Here three local bookshops offer a taste of what’s on offer
ur Twitter feeds seem full of people who, for example, capitalised on newfound free time of furlough and managed to publish a book amid the chaos of lockdown – so the coming year could well see a proliferation of first-time writers and fresh literary voices offering up new imagined worlds and viewpoints to ponder. In addition to the planned works of literature’s established authors, there’ll be plenty to get stuck into as we start to hunker down.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett It’s no surprise that Brit Bennett’s second novel has already been snapped up by HBO for a miniseries, because it is a uniquely and inherently engrossing story – an intersectional family saga that glides through issues of race, community and legacy, all through the lens of one fictional town in the American Deep South. The title refers to the disappearing act of one of the Vignes twins – two seemingly inextricable girls whose lives take shockingly different turns when one of them runs away.
The independent North Street bookshop serves Bedminster brilliantly with its events, coffee and next-day ordering, and delivers worldwide too. Co-owners Dan and Emily Ross share what they’ve been reading.
The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams Prepare yourself for a full serving of wordplay in Eley Williams’ first full-length novel, an utterly unique story of made-up words, pelican ambushes and bomb scares, set in the crumbling offices of the (completely fictional) Swansby’s New Encylopaedic Dictionary. One errant employee in the 19th century has riddled the dictionary with fake words (known in the trade as mountweazels), and it’s up to intern Mallory in the present day to unearth and correct them. As you might imagine, it’s a task fraught with unexpected outcomes…
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What’s the story, Storysmith?
The Harpy by Megan Hunter With the nights beginning to draw in, you’ll be in need of a clutchyour-knees-on-the-sofa sort of book to make the most of the chilly atmosphere, and Megan Hunter’s deliciously odd and disturbing new novel is just the ticket. A cuckolded wife comes up with a plan for revenge, the sheer vindictiveness of which starts to make her question her own grasp on reality. It’s both domestic and magical, terrifying yet oddly liberating.
26 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
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OCTOBER 2020
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No 193
The Book Of Trespass by Nick Hayes Any venture outside these days can feel like a bit of a trespassing, so there’s no better time to explore exactly what this loaded word means.
