Water
John Boyne
Doubleday, £12.99, pp176
The first in a quartet of interlinked novellas named after the elements, Irish novelist John Boyne’s new project is an intriguing investigation of contemporary trauma. In Water, a woman arrives on a remote island, head shaved and name changed. Gradually, we find out why “Willow” is desperately searching for a new start: she’s escaping a highly public abuse scandal. How complicit she was is a question with which Willow and the reader must grapple, but her rage, pain and redemption of sorts is really well handled in this short but powerful book.
Wise Gals
Nathalia Holt
Icon, £11.99, pp356 (paperback)
The American author does a great job of relaying how the CIA was built from scratch after the second world war thanks to the efforts of a remarkable group of women. A necessary corrective to the sexism and misogyny rife in spy tales, Wise Gals also contains some eye-opening tales of espionage from across the world. Most importantly, though, the CIA agents – Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, Elizabeth Sudmeier and Jane Burrell – finally get the recognition they were denied in life.
Bazball: The Inside Story of a Test Cricket Revolution
Lawrence Booth and Nick Hoult
Bloomsbury, £22, pp352
Earlier this month, “Bazball” was added to the Collins English Dictionary. Cricket writers Booth and Hoult explain why in their entertaining “inside story of a test revolution”. The definition – “a style of cricket in which the batting side attempts to gain the initiative by playing in a highly aggressive manner” – is used as shorthand for England test coach Brendon “Baz” McCullum’s approach, devised with team captain Ben Stokes. Bazball is not just timely – this summer’s Ashes series plays a major role; there is also impressive context and insight into the main characters.
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