Three Compelling New Novels Delve into Human Experience
Three distinct literary voices—Chloe Aridjis, Sian Hughes, and Solvej Balle—have released new novels that explore themes of trauma, time, and the nature of storytelling through richly crafted narratives. Each work offers a unique perspective on human resilience and introspection.
The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis
The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis (Chatto & Windus £16.99, 192pp) is a virtuosic art novel that masterfully blends digressive storytelling with symbolic depth. The plot follows Flora, a silver polisher at a London jewellery shop, whose visit to her parents in Mexico takes a dramatic turn when she is bitten by the family dog. Hospitalised in Mexico, Flora forms an unexpected friendship with an elderly German toy collector nearing the end of her life.
This encounter propels Flora into a relationship with the deceased woman's son back in London, sparking a meditative exploration of storytelling. The novel is peppered with zany details while being shadowed by the spectre of the Holocaust, creating a haunting backdrop. Aridjis's immersive phrase-making and contemplative spaces ultimately captivate readers more than the plot itself, offering a reflective journey into narrative construction.
No Such Thing As Monday by Sian Hughes
No Such Thing As Monday by Sian Hughes (The Indigo Press £14.99, 240pp) marks the author's follow-up to her Booker-longlisted debut, Pearl. Hughes, aged 60, sets this new novel in the West Midlands, delving into similar emotional terrain with a brutally harsh tale of exploitation and survival. The protagonist, Steffie, is a fiftysomething dry cleaner whose life is upended by the death of her ex-convict father.
This event unleashes a flood of trauma as Steffie searches for her long-lost sister to deliver the news. The narrative itemises trials such as abuse, poverty, addiction, and prostitution through poignant episodes dating back to Steffie's 1970s girlhood. Despite the grim lows, Hughes infuses the story with gallows humour, leading to a redemptively sunny finale that feels hard-earned and deeply satisfying.
On The Calculation of Volume IV by Solvej Balle
On The Calculation of Volume IV by Solvej Balle (Faber £12.99, 208pp) is the fourth instalment in a Danish philosophical series, with three more volumes to come. The story centres on a bookseller trapped in a recurring cycle of the same mid-November day, a premise that Balle ingeniously complicates as the series progresses.
Initially focused on the narrator's confusion, the drama evolves to reveal that her crisis is shared by a growing number of people across Europe. These individuals, dubbed 'loopers', gather in a villa outside Bremen, forming rotas for chores and holding meetings to discuss their plight. For readers, this peculiar predicament serves as a gateway to pondering everyday mysteries of consciousness, as the characters brainstorm ways to order their disrupted experience of time, blending philosophical inquiry with narrative intrigue.
