New in the pile

There are days when being a reader seems like an overwhelming affliction – there is simply too much to read and too little time in which to do it. It’s almost enough to make me want to abandon the exercise entirely sometimes, leaving it for some other dutiful reader to tackle. Almost. Here are some of the newest releases which have made it onto the tops of our ‘To Read’ lists.

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon grasped the imaginations of the authors of this blog firmly between its talons with its combination of detective mystery and literary ramble. Ruiz’s latest novel, The Angel’s Game, was released on the first of July. It sports a blue cover that, while it is consistent with the previous cover, may not grab the attentions of readers not familiar with the previous work.

Zafon says of the two novels, "if Shadow of the Wind is the nice, good girl in the family, The Angel’s Game would be the wicked gothic stepsister." Set again in Barcelona and described by some as a prequel to its predecessor, The Angel’s Game follows successful writer David Martin as he is made the offer of a lifetime: to write a book unlike any other in exchange for a handsome fortune.

But before I dip my literary toes into The Angel’s Game, I look forward to reading A.S. Byatt’s newest, The Children’s Book, which beat Ruiz to the honorary top of the pile by being released first. It has been described by those in the know as her best work since Possession (which in turn is arguably one of the best novels ever written) and ‘the most moving book I have read in thirty years’. This one is also about a writer, named Olive Wellwood, and is too a mystery of sorts.

And there is South African Alexandra Fuller’s The Legend of Colton H. Bryant, about which much has been written in the local press. Like her previous books (which have also been much praised and beg for their own readings), The Legend of Colton H. Bryant is as much an exploration of the boundaries of the genre of biography as it is the tale of a captivating young man who symbolises a nation’s greed. Fuller’s previous works are Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight and Scribbling the Cat.

PS: Although this one deserves an inclusion in this literary line-up, it is only due out later this year and so there is not much information available about it. Titled Her Fearful Symmetry, author Audrey Niffenegger of The Time Traveler’s Wife fame says her second novel is about two identical twins who test the boundaries of their bond. "Things get out of control, as you might imagine," she concludes.