5 British Books to Look Out For in the US in February
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Biography, essay, humour, and more: this month’s British books coming to the US are eclectic and interesting.
This novel came out last year in the UK, and there was a lot of love for it — I saw it on more than one “best of 2017” book list. Its main character has been 41 for hundreds of years, and he puts his first-hand knowledge of different time periods to use by becoming a history teacher in London. All he has to do to stay safe is not fall in love, and so naturally… well, you can guess.
When I interviewed author Nikesh Shukla for the Brit Lit Podcast, and asked him what the last book he’d read that he loved was, it was this “brilliant” book of essays by Zadie Smith. “It’s just like wearing your favourite jumper, with Zadie,” he says. “As soon as you start reading those words, you’re like: I love you, I love this, I love this dynamic.”
This 1980-set novel sounds like a lot of fun. The residents of Stickle Island must come together to save their Thatcher-threatened ferry, and there’s a cast of characters including “a horny vicar and an even hornier Postmistress”, and a “wildly erratic mainland drug dealer called Carter and his soft-hearted henchman Simp” who come to the island with plans of their own. If you liked The Full Monty, this might be one to try.
This novel follows Sophie, Emily, Amy, and Melissa, a group of friends who’ve seen each other through the ups and downs of life since childhood: marriage, motherhood, alcoholism. But what will a secret surfacing do to their friendship?
Andrew Morton is well respected as the pre-eminent royal biographer, and he’s got a big year ahead, with this book published in February and Meghan: A Hollywood Princess due out in April. Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée, essentially changed the course of the British Monarchy, so she’s an important figure in understanding the significance of Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry.
