5 new books to read this week

Furies is a new feminist collection of short stories, featuring tales by Margaret Atwood, Ali Smith, Kamila Shamsie and more…

Fiction

1. Furies by Margaret Atwood et al is published in hardback by Virago, priced £16.99 (ebook £9.99). Available now

Feminist publisher Virago – founded in the 1970s in response to the political and social change happening at that time – amplifies the voices of women with something to say. Furies is a short story collection featuring some of the greatest and most exciting voices among them, including Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, Nigerian writer Chibundu Onuzo and British-Pakistani writer Kamila Shamsie. Sandi Toksvig provides the introduction, warning readers this is a book of wild writing – and it’s a promise that delivers. While different in style and contents, each story in some way or other explores female experience and, most crucially, power. Some are historical, some are infused with the mystical and magical, some have threads of fierce commentary and some are laugh-out-loud funny. All of them fizz with energy, meaning and page-turner plots.8/10(Review by Abi Jackson)

2. Cuddy by Benjamin Myers is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Circus, priced £20 (ebook £14). Available now

Durham Cathedral was born from a vision – from a determination to create a work of art which was beyond normal scope, which would invite remark, and which would endure. In Cuddy, Myers has brought his own ambitious vision of an overarching literary novel to life. Through poetry, prose, diary entries and script, Myers covers ground from pre-Norman to modern day, charting the legacy of St Cuthbert – the titular ‘Cuddy’ – and the history of the north of England. Cuddy is a book to be taken seriously, even though at times, its own tongue sits firmly in its cheek. Its characters, through the ages, are credible and colourful, and whilst the book is dense with literary and historical reference, it has a lightness of touch which prevents it sagging beneath its own weight. The humour and sharp observations that are woven through even the darkest of sections keep the narrative marching on at pace. In Cuddy, Myers presents us with a labour of love. It is not a superficial read and it certainly won’t be a novel for everyone. It is beyond the normal scope; it will invite remark. But there can be little doubt that as a work of literature and as a tribute to a man and his region, it will endure.8/10(Review by Hannah Colby)

3. I Will Find You by Harlan Coben is published in hardback by Century, priced £20 (ebook £10.99). Available now

Going to prison for a crime you didn’t commit is one thing, but going to prison for killing your toddler son and then being told there is a chance he may still be alive makes for terrifying reading. David Burroughs is merely surviving life in a high-security prison as a convicted ‘child killer’, his marriage in tatters, until his former sister-in-law shows up with an unbelievable photograph. This is a dramatic, suspenseful Coben novel, and while there are plenty of twists and turns, it did feel a little too chock full of cliches. From cop tropes to corruption, this book has everything Coben does well in it – plus a bit of unnecessary romance and a little too predictably delivered. While so much of Coben’s writing thrives on screen, this book feels too much designed for TV and not necessarily for the reader. While it may not be his best, this is still a fabulous crime novel with a satisfying resolution, and a rumbling undertone of real fear over how to prove you didn’t do something you can’t remember.7/10(Review by Imy Brighty-Potts)

Non-fiction

4. Enchantment: Reawakening Wonder In An Exhausted Age by Katherine May is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced £16.99 (ebook £9.99). Available now

Katherine May, author of Wintering: The Power Of Rest, emerged from lockdown much like the rest of us: beaten down and battling to reacclimatise with the outside world. In Enchantment, the Kent-based writer charts her journey of rediscovery through sections on the four elements: with pool-based lessons cancelled during the pandemic, she now embraces wild swimming, surrendering to the mercy of the sea; later she marvels at the destruction of fire and over astronomical movements beyond our comprehension that can only ever humble us. A thread of spirituality pervades the text, possibly deterring some readers, but every chapter contains valuable insights and can help those still struggling to shun exhaustion and insecurity, and reawaken their senses.7/10(Review by James Cann)

Children’s book of the week

5. The Girl Who Loves Bugs by Lily Murray, illustrated by Jenny Løvlie, is published in paperback by Macmillan Children’s Books, priced £7.99 (ebook £6.49). Available March 30

The life of the first woman to run London Zoo’s insect house is the inspiration behind a beautifully illustrated book about a young girl who loves bugs. Evie plays in her garden with moths, snails, crickets – even worms and spiders – but decides to take them to her bedroom, delighting in going to sleep alongside ants and woodlice. She’s as snug as a bug, until the slimy creatures escape around the house, just as her family is arriving for a visit. A scary great gran ends up saving the day by helping Evie build a bug hotel and minibeast zoo. There’s a lovely underlying message of the importance for young girls to be curious and deal with a drama.8/10(Review by Alan Jones)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 25

HARDBACK (FICTION)1. Old Babes In The Wood by Margaret Atwood2. In Memoriam by Alice Winn3. A Day Of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon4. I Will Find You by Harlan Coben5. Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes6. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton7. Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry8. Godkiller by Hannah Kaner9. Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati10. Cuddy by Benjamin Myers(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)1. Bored Of Lunch: The Healthy Air Fryer Book by Nathan Anthony2. Spare by The Duke of Sussex3. The Earth Transformed by Professor Peter Frankopan4. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy5. Fast Like a Girl: A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones by Dr. Mindy Pelz6. Did I ever tell you this? by Sam Neill7. The Ultimate Air Fryer Cookbook by Clare Andrews & Air Fryer UK8. Bored Of Lunch: The Healthy Slow Cooker Book by Nathan Anthony9. The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause by Dr Louise Newson10. Strong Female Character by Fern Brady(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)1. I Will Find You by Harlan Coben2. Atomic Habits by James Clear3. Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes4. Spare by The Duke of Sussex5. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley6. Madly, Deeply by Alan Rickman & Alan Taylor7. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus8. What Just Happened?! by Marina Hyde9. Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent10. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman(Compiled by Audible)