Vigdis Hjorth - If Only (2001) {352pp / 9h58m} [Goodreads link]
Neurotic romance (which we have not read a lot of) written by a Norwegian (thus, locally sourced) novelist, which asks, can passion be mistaken for love? It then proceeds by documenting the destruction of a decade defined by such a misconstruction can yield on a life. Supposedly melds the yearning, doomed potency of Annie Ernaux's A Simple Passion with the scale and force of Anna Karenina.
Wendy Erskine - The Benefactors (2025) {321pp / 9h44m} [Goodreads link]
A novel about intimate histories, class and money - and what being a parent means. A daring, polyphonic presentation of modern-day Northern Ireland that ought also be funny.
Mieko Kawakami - Sisters in Yellow (2023) {448pp / 15h27m} [Goodreads link]
A pacy and thrilling novel, a Japanese Breaking Bad, in which a group