From his one-bedroom flat in London, middle-aged Keith Gordon is watching his life unravel. His teenage son is involved with a local gang and Keith is struggling to look out for him without the support of his estranged wife.
In this interesting st
ory about black culture played out over three generations of the same family, we watch as trouble grows for both Keith's son and his ageing father, who emigrated from the West Indies in the 1960s.
Keith loses sight of how to cope and live up to his responsibilities as a son and a father.
Phillips' excellent reputation is well deserved. He explores grand themes by peering expertly through the net curtains of everyday life. Intelligent, gripping, understated and affecting, this is a brilliant account of how real life can get in the way of a family's dreams.
9/10 Review by Dean Haigh
Nights Of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton is published by Tor priced £16.99. In a corrupt empire, nobles jostle for power when they should be more concerned about the looming ice age and the mysterious enemies coming with it – just like in the epic Song Of Ice And Fire by George RR Martin, whose visceral sex and violence is also echoed here.
The refuge from this doom is an ancient palimpsest of a city, replete with mysterious artefacts – the debt to M John Harrison's bewitching metropolis Viriconium is clear, as Villjamur even begins with the same letters.
And where Harrison's mastery of language was spellbinding, Newton's attempts to broaden his novel's vocabulary often feel forced – how exactly is a "disaggregated body" different from a dismembered one?
This isn't a bad book. It's competent, and if it's as derivative as too much fantasy is, at least it's emulating different models. But ultimately there's not enough here to entice anyone but hardcore fantasy fans.
5/10 Review by Alex Sarll
Sunnyside by Glen David Gold is published by Sceptre priced £17.99. On November 12, 1916, comedy legend Charlie Chaplin was reportedly simultaneously seen in six different cities and paged in 800 hotel lobbies across America. In Sunnyside, the fictional characters woven into this inexplicable (but true) incident include Leland Wheeler, a coastguard who dreams of movie stardom, and Hugo Black, who just wants someone to appreciate his knowledge of French literature.
Over the next three years, as the US is pulled into the "European War", Glen David Gold's follow-up to the much-loved Carter Beats The Devil follows these and other lives. Charlie will struggle to make "a film as good as he is", Leland will fight in France, and Hugo will get to speak French – but in Russia.
A vast and varied tapestry, Sunnyside interweaves the birth of modern celebrity with the fate of nations and the terrible, enduring, fragile thing that is human hope. If the contemporary parallels of the Russian sections are sometimes laboured, this is the only flaw in an astonishing novel.
9/10 Review by Alex Sarll
Exploding The Myths Of Modern Architecture by Malcolm Millais is published by Frances Lincoln, priced £18.99. This book makes a devastating case against modern architecture – a subject that at times arouses as much controversy as the belief in man-made climate change.
Malcolm Millais, a retired engineer with decades of building experience, is firmly on the side of Prince Charles in decrying the results of the "Modern Movement" which has engulfed the world since the end of the Second World War.
Millais describes how this "glass box" style began about 100 years ago, and took off with a vengeance after 1945.
Its edicts include the use of steel, concrete and glass, lack of decoration, flat roofs and rejection of features from previous styles in history. It is meant to be "pure", "honest" and functional. Yet the buildings often present serious structural and maintenance problems, dehumanise their environment and are often hated by the public.
Many architects who favour the movement defend it ferociously, insisting that its detractors should be "educated" into acceptance. Millais dismisses their attitude with contempt.
9/10 Review by Anthony Looch
We Can't All Be Astronauts by Tim Clare is published by Ebury Press, priced £10.99. Introducing yourself as the central character in your first novel is a huge gamble.
Especially when you're a depressed, overweight writer who lives with his parents, with horribly successful friends who are shooting up the authorial ladder.
Clare's first comic novel about his attempts to discover what makes the heart of the publishing industry beat stays on the right side of excruciating self-flagellation – but only just.
Suffering acute post-graduate blues, Clare determines to discover whether his long-cherished dream to become a famous author is worth living out his twenties in his parents' attic.
His reports of toe-curling attempts to get in touch with anyone who can shed some light on this ambiguous objective are mostly shrewd and funny, although his actions often border on the psychotic.
If Clare's words are to be believed, one can't help wondering how such a seemingly-incapable individual ever managed to land a book deal, just so he could write about his life.
8/10 Review by Sarah O'Meara
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld is published in paperback by Black Swan, priced £7.99. From the author of the critically-acclaimed Prep – shortlisted for the Orange Prize – comes American Wife, the powerful story of how an ordinary girl grew up to become First Lady of the United States. This book was a huge hit, in no small part due to the heroine's obvious similarity to Laura Bush.
Deadly Intent by Lynda La Plante is published in paperback by Pocket Books, priced £7.99. One of the UK's most eminent modern thriller writers, Lynda La Plante is back with another show-stopper. This time we join Anna Travis and DCI Langton on a hunt for a world-class drug dealer who has many disguises.
HARDBACKS 1 D-Day: The Battle For Normandy, Antony Beevor
2 Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
3 Assegai, Wilbur Smith
4 The Angel's Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
5 One Day, David Nicholls
6 Swimsuit, James Patterson
7 Target, Simon Kernick
8 The Scarecrow, Michael Connelly
9 A Short History Of Caravans In The UK, Richard Hammond
10 The Dads' Book, Michael Heatley
PAPERBACKS1 Azincourt, Bernard Cornwell
2 Sail, James Patterson
3 New Moon, Stephenie Meyer
4 Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
5 The Other Hand, Chris Cleave
6 Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
7 The Beach House, Jane Green
8 Guernica, Dave Boling
9 The Brass Verdict, Michael Connelly
10 Home, Marilynne Robinson
The full article contains 1122 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
