Three Captivating New Novels Explore Betrayal, Family and Ageing
This week's literary offerings present readers with three distinct yet equally compelling narratives that delve into the complexities of human relationships, memory, and identity across different stages of life.
Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester
John Lanchester's latest novel, Look What You Made Me Do, published by Faber at £16.99 across 304 pages, presents a gripping exploration of grief, deception, and the unsettling intersection between private life and public entertainment. The story centers on Kate Huddleston, whose seemingly perfect thirty-year marriage to wealthy, charismatic Jack is abruptly shattered when she discovers him dead one night.
The initial trauma of widowhood takes an even more disturbing turn when Kate encounters a new Netflix series titled Cheating that has captivated public discussion. To her mounting horror, she recognizes intimate details from her own married life woven into the script, revealing that the central character—a man embroiled in an affair with a younger woman—is unmistakably based on her late husband.
Lanchester skillfully alternates perspectives between Kate's devastating discovery and Phoebe, the millennial scriptwriter behind the controversial show who becomes the target of Kate's justified fury. The author constructs intricate narrative webs reminiscent of a slightly deranged spider, creating a highly enjoyable novel populated by memorable characters engaged in Machiavellian scheming that will keep readers thoroughly engaged.
Good Good Loving by Yvette Edwards
Yvette Edwards' remarkable novel Good Good Loving, available from Virago at £18.99 spanning 288 pages, offers a powerful reverse-chronology narrative that redefines family dynamics and maternal sacrifice. The story begins with Ellen on her deathbed, disturbed not by impending death but by her family's bedside conversations cataloging her perceived failings.
As death approaches, the narrative travels backward through Ellen's life over fifty years, beginning at her final moments and concluding with the birth of her son. This structural choice reveals a life marked by relentless toil—first as an immigrant from Montserrat working seven-day weeks, then as a wife struggling to contain her husband Clyde's "rampant infidelity" (with the memorable observation that "even the world's strongest braces could not keep Clyde's trousers up").
Ellen's story emerges as one of profound, largely unrecognized sacrifice as she dedicates her life to providing for children who view her more as scold than savior. Edwards' astounding novel, which balances laughter and tears in equal measure, ultimately reveals Ellen not as family villain but as the thankless heroine whose quiet heroism sustained her family through decades of challenge.
Still Talking by Lore Segal
Lore Segal's posthumously published novella Still Talking, available from Sort Of Books at £9.99 across 112 pages, completely upends stereotypes about nonagenarians with its witty, profound portrayal of intellectual vitality in later life. Forget assumptions about conversations limited to Antiques Roadshow or competitive ailment comparisons—Segal introduces readers to a group of ninety-year-old Upper West Side Manhattan intellectuals who spend their days debating philosophy, theology, and Proust.
These remarkable women attempt monthly gatherings unless prevented by COVID, illness, or the inevitable reality of their own mortality. With compassion and humor, they navigate the challenges of ageing, even transforming cognitive decline into entertainment through their invented "Great Forgetting Olympics" where they compete to see who can forget the most names, dates, and details.
Segal's moving and frequently hilarious narrative celebrates the enduring power of genuine friendship that strengthens even as physical capabilities diminish. The novella serves as a poignant reminder to maintain curiosity and intellectual engagement throughout life's final chapters, offering readers both laughter and profound insight into the human condition.
Together, these three works demonstrate contemporary fiction's continuing power to illuminate the full spectrum of human experience—from the shock of posthumous betrayal to the quiet heroism of family sacrifice and the intellectual vitality that can flourish even in life's final decades.
