I was completely swept away – and shattered: The best Popular novels out now
EVEN BEYOND DEATH by Fiona Melrose (Corsair £22, 400pp)
This novel is utterly brilliant and I loved it. We’re in 1650s Avignon with the Marquis de Baudelaire, a swashbuckling young aristocrat whose fictional memoirs form the tale.
With a dry, Wildean wit he recounts his passion for his valet, the mysterious and handsome Jonathan Kryk.
But if Kryk returns his love and they’re discovered, the time and place mean terrible consequences. Thus, heart-stopping danger stalks the story, but heart-bursting romance even more so.
There are some quite explicit love scenes. The characters are wonderful and the atmosphere intense. I was completely swept away – and shattered.
WHILE WE’RE YOUNG by K. L. Walther (Electric Monkey £9.99, 384pp)
A fun, high-spirited tale about Philadelphia teenagers. Hardworking Isa strained every sinew but failed to get into Harvard.
Her best friend Grace plans a day out, Ferris Bueller-style, where they leave the whole swot thing behind and just enjoy being silly in Philly.
Cue a sweet and screwball tale involving dressing up as a football mascot, ‘stealing’ the Declaration of Independence, narrowly avoiding the school principal and realising they love boys who’ve always been right in front of them.
I enjoyed the easy-breezy good nature of it and all the Americana; every other word a brand name.
UNIVERSALITY by Natasha Brown (Faber £14.99, 176pp)
Universality is available on 13th March from the Mail Bookshop
A proper old-fashioned state-of-the-nation satire is a rare beast these days.
This one embraces new targets such as demagogue columnists and eco-warriors alongside more traditional heartless capitalists.
A bizarre accident on a Yorkshire farm goes viral via a ‘long read’ magazine article. This starts the novel, after which those involved are individually profiled.
Brown’s target is the modern writing market, whether it’s earnest Left-wing reporting, Right-wing bully pulpits or the politics of literary festivals.
A sharp, clever take on contemporary culture.