BOOKS NIC BOTTOMLEY
To be continued… Proof lockdown can’t keep a good book down
“Kristin works as part of the Viking exhibition…caring for livestock that she names after Swedish pop stars” 24 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk
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little less than a year ago, when the co ntry sh t down for the first time, the publishing industry reacted to the total absence of bookstore shop floors by postponing the vast ma ority of their planned new publishing. That was understandable given the uncertainty we all faced and with new words like ‘furlough’ and ‘lockdown’ suddenly having vital existential importance to b sinesses. his time aro nd tho gh it has been pleasing that, while publishing schedules have been reigned in to some extent, a ma ority of new books are still being released. So whilst a thors are missing out on celebrating their ‘book birthdays’ as they normally wo ld and we can’t rave abo t the books to c stomers visiting the shop st yet, at least lots of creative new writing is emerging to keep readers engaged d ring this most morose of times. The biggest book birthday of 2021 for us at Mr B’s was the release of How We are Translated by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson (Scribe, £12.99). Not because this is an incredibly creative, entertaining and thought-provoking novel (though these things are true), but because Jess is one of o r booksellers. am in awe of how ess has managed to find and channel the imaginative energy needed to write and prepare a debut novel for publication, whilst also doing her oftendemanding ob so excellently. nd a serio s amo nt of creative energy m st have been re ired to write How We are Translated in particular. This is a novel fi ing with ideas, wry h mo r, and ling istic contradictions as its two principal protagonists, Kristin and Ciaran play out an often-disconnected relationship thanks, in part, to mismatches in the languages in which they think and speak. Serio s matters are explored thro gho t – partic larly the dire state of o r climate crisis and how that may alter the paths o r lives take and the decisions we make – b t there’s also la ghter along the way. hat comes partly from m sings on the idiosyncrasies of lang age we learn many excellent Swedish compo nd no ns en ro te b t also from ristin’s brilliantly bi arre work environment at the National se m of mmigration, which has taken over part of Edinburgh castle. Kristin works as part of the Viking exhibition, spending her days sparring with o cio s middle management whilst dressed in traditional cost me for the benefit of to rists and caring for livestock that she names after Swedish pop stars.
s booksellers we’re more conscio s now than ever of the need to give oxygen to the works of novelists at the early stages of their careers, whilst shops aren’t open for browsing. side from ess’s book, have also st finished reading the second novel by iona o ley, whose deb t Elmet blew me away fo r years ago and was shortlisted for the ooker Pri e. er follow p Hot Stew ohn rray, . is far removed from the deep forest setting of Northern England of that first book. his time the action is centred almost entirely on Soho in London, which we get to know in all its seedy glory through a vibrant cast of characters. rom s bterranean addicts and noble prostit tes to retired thugs and Russian property developers living on the inherited spoils of corruptions past, all of life is here and their fates seem tterly intertwined. n a str ct re reminiscent of ohn anchester’s Capital, we slowly get to know these pawns in Soho’s game of hedonism and gentrification, and despite their many fa lts we find o rselves hoping things will, somehow, work o t. Perhaps Precio s and the others will find a way to keep s rreptitio sly plying their trade from the bedrooms of their dilapidated home perhaps Cheryl will emerge from the very literal depths of her despair, and perhaps Agatha and the others controlling the neighbourhood’s purse strings will grow a conscience. r e to form, o ley keeps s guessing whether any of our hopes will be realised right until the bitter end. Lastly, a word about another follow-up novel that is next on my reading pile and for which we’ve waited fourteen years. The Raw Shark Texts by Steven all Canongate, . exploded into adrenaline p mping life the year after we opened Mr B’s, and ever since we’ve wondered what wo ld come next from the man who gave s that mesmeric mix of nexplained cr shed light b lbs and an nknown enemy seeking o t the v lnerable arters of the hero’s s bconscio s. ell, we’re abo t to find o t. all’s Maxwell’s Demon Canongate, . has st emerged and promises, wait for it, a thrilling npredictable tale of a novelist who wrote a bestselling mystery novel and then disappeared. Do you see what he did there?! Nic Bottomley is the general manager of Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, 14/15 John Street, Bath; tel: 01225 331155; www.mrbsemporium.com
