This month's new paperbacks include a highly anticipated novel from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a short story collection from Salman Rushdie, and a philosophical treatise from Werner Herzog, among other notable releases.
Fiction Highlights
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is billed as “a publishing event 10 years in the making”. It follows four women—Chiamaka, Zikora, Omelogor, and Kadiatou—who are immigrants in the US. The novel weaves together themes of childbirth, pregnancy loss, and sexual assault, set against the backdrop of the Covid pandemic. Price: £8.99 (RRP £9.99).
The School of Night by Karl Ove Knausgård is the fourth book in his Morning Star cycle. It explores supernatural phenomena surrounding a bright new star in the sky, with a focus on the mysterious Kristian Hadeland. Price: £9.34 (RRP £10.99).
Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood recounts the author's experience with long Covid, including aphasia, hallucination, and paranoia. The narrative is fragmented, reflecting the disorienting nature of the illness. Price: £8.49 (RRP £9.99).
The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers follows Cora, a millennial mother, who spends a decade fantasizing about an affair with a playgroup dad. The novel is a comic take on adultery and a critique of self-conscious New Yorkers. Price: £8.99 (RRP £9.99).
Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart tracks 10-year-old Vera Bradford-Shmulkin, an overanxious academic high achiever, as she searches for her missing Korean-born mother. The novel is set in a “post-democracy” USA a decade in the future. Price: £8.99 (RRP £9.99).
Vulture by Phoebe Greenwood follows freelance journalist Sara Byrne reporting from Gaza in 2012. The novel is a caustic study of conflict reporting, with a protagonist whose mental state deteriorates. Price: £9.89 (RRP £10.99).
Discontent by Beatriz Serrano features Marisa, a 32-year-old “head of creative strategy” in a Madrid ad agency, who navigates workplace ambivalence and a team-building retreat. Price: £8.99 (RRP £9.99).
Bluff by Francine Toon is set in St Rule, a Scottish coastal town. In 2023, Cameron returns home and tries to find his former classmate Joanie, last seen 10 years earlier. A second narrative follows 18-year-old Joanie in 2013. Price: £9.89 (RRP £10.99).
Short Stories and Memoir
The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie is a collection of five death-haunted stories, including a tale about a Cambridge fellow and a story about a child born at midnight who becomes a gifted pianist. Price: £8.49 (RRP £9.99).
Frankly by Nicola Sturgeon recounts her early life in a council flat in Dreghorn, Ayrshire, and her rise in politics. She reveals a near-breakdown after giving evidence at the UK Covid inquiry and discusses her pregnancy loss. Price: £10.19 (RRP £11.99).
All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert opens with a love letter from her late partner Rayya. The memoir details Rayya's final year and Gilbert's struggle with grief and self-indulgence. Price: £9.34 (RRP £10.99).
Literary Criticism and Philosophy
Authority by Andrea Long Chu is a collection of essays and reviews from 2018 to 2023. Chu, who won a Pulitzer prize for criticism in 2023, treats novels as arguments that reveal their authors' inadequacies. Price: £10.19 (RRP £11.99).
The Future of Truth by Werner Herzog sets out his views on truth in a world of technologically enhanced falsehoods. The book elaborates on his 1999 Minnesota Declaration and includes strong opinions on cinéma vérité and the concept of “ecstatic truth”. Price: £10.19 (RRP £11.99).
