John's July Staff Picks

July was a brilliant month for reading. I was floored by three exceptional American novels - The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin, Heart the Lover by Lily King and Dodge City by Patrick deWitt. Meg Mason proved that Sorrow and Bliss was no fluke, her new book Sophie, Standing There is wonderful. Debut crime writer, Nicholas Timms modernised Rear Window. And novelist Hannah Richell made me cry with An Ocean and a Day.

We meet Sophie after her life has been sunk. Drowning, she clutches the life and work of a famous writer to keep herself afloat. But when that author turns up in the flesh, will Sophie’s obsession kill or cure her? An immersive read, well worth your time.

Yes, I am late getting to Heart The Lover, but after all the buzz I had to see what I was missing. It’s essentially a tale of missed opportunities, beautifully told. Definitely worth the hype.

If you know what it is to read Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories for the first time, or to stumble across the work of Willa Cather or Raymond Carver, you will have some idea of what it is to read Willy Vlautin. Absolutely flawless.

Remember that Hitchcock classic Rear Window? (Or the episode of the Simpsons called Bart of Darkness!?) Well Nicolas Timms has updated the story by having someone witness a murder, via a livestream, that is happening hundreds of kilometres away. And guess what, no one believes him. Gripping.

It’s the sixties, a young man wakes to find he’s been drafted to fight in Vietnam. He decides to flee to Canada. But first he has to say goodbye to the woman he loves and his family who are scattered across the country. Youth bottled, this novel is a minor miracle.