2 days ago
Literary fiction to lure you in: TO THE MOON by Jang Ryujin, THE BOMBSHELL by Darrow Farr, SARASWATI by Gurnaik Johal
To The Moon is available now from the Mail Bookshop
TO THE MOON by Jang Ryujin (Bloomsbury £14.99, 304pp)
THE latest Korean bestseller to find a space in British bookstores, this follows 20-something friends
Eun-sang, Jisong and Dahae, who are united both by their boring jobs at a snack food company and blue-collar backgrounds that set them apart from their cossetted peers.
For Dahae, a studio flat where the toilet isn't permanently visible seems like an impossible dream, but then ambitious amateur investor Eun-sang introduces her to cryptocurrency.
Following Eun-sang's lead, she sinks her life savings into 'Ethereum' and they begin to skyrocket – only Jisong is sceptical, believing her friends have lost sight of what's important in life.
With its likeable trio, this zeitgeisty rags-to-riches tale is gently diverting, quietly and pleasingly subverting the narrative arc you might expect.
THE BOMBSHELL by Darrow Farr (Atlantic £17.99, 416pp)
SET in Corsica in 1993, the egotistical anti-heroine of this mostly page-turning rollercoaster ride is 17-year-old Séverine Guimard.
The entitled daughter of the island's French prefect, she sees her future as a film star. But when she is kidnapped by Corsican revolutionaries, her life takes an abrupt left-turn.
Forget Stockholm Syndrome, before long she's reading about decolonisation alongside her captors and embracing a starring role as the Kalashnikov-wielding face of their cause.
But is hers really the zeal of the convert or is her true motivation her burning desire for the group's handsome leader Bruno and a wish to settle old scores? The more sober final quarter, set in 2013, provides a satisfactory conclusion to a debut that's part hostage drama, part political thriller, and increasingly large part screwed up love story.
SARASWATI by Gurnaik Johal (Serpent's Tail £16.99, 384pp)
JOHAL came to notice with his award-winning debut collection of stories We Move, featuring an interconnected cast largely drawn from west London's British-Punjabi community.
In his hugely ambitious first novel, he spins another narrative web but on a much grander scale.
At the centre is the holy Saraswati River, which according to myth once flowed through northern India before disappearing below ground. When the water again seeks the surface, it's instantly seized upon by nationalist politicians who proclaim an opportunity for the country's economic, environmental and spiritual rebirth.
Johal's linked characters, who during the course of the novel piece together a shared lineage dating back centuries, are all caught up.
It's often hard to hold onto the connecting threads in an intense, dizzying tale that shifts from Bollywood film sets to deep sea expeditions to eco-sabotage missions. However, Johal's expansive vision and propulsive story- telling mark him as a talent.
