It’s going to be tough to make a choice this month since all three books I picked in my lucky dip from the TBR Book Jar sound enticing.
The Absolutist by John Boyne
Boyne’s novel takes place against the background of World War 1 and a close friendship between two soldiers. When the war is over, one of those men visits his friend’s sister, taking with her a clutch of letters. The letters are simply a pretext for the visitor has a secret he is desperate to share.
A Dry White Season by Andre Brink
The blurb describes Brink’s novel as “an unflinching and unforgettable look at racial intolerance, the human condition, and the heavy price of morality.” it’s set in suburban Johannesburg during the apartheid era. The focus is on a white schoolteacher, a man who has always believed in the essential fairness of the South African government and its policies. That changes with arrest and subsequent “suicide” of a black janitor from Du Toit’s school. Haunted by new questions and desperate to believe that the man’s death was a tragic accident, Du Toit undertakes an investigation into the terrible affair—a quest for the truth that will have devastating consequences for the teacher and his family,
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
it’s Christmas time at the start of this Booker-prize contender but its central character has very little to be cheerful about this season. When she’s not caring for her alcoholic father, Eileen Dunlop works as a secretary at a prison for young male offenders. She relieves the tedium with spates of shoplifting and dreams of escaping to a new life in the city. The arrival of a newcomer heralds the prospect of a completely new life but Eileen ends up being dragged into a crime.
And the vote goes to …….
This is hard, The Boyne is probably my least favourite of the trio simply because I’ve read a fair number of world war 1 and 2 novels in recent months. Brink is tempting me the most but I’ve only recently read a novel from South Africa and that was also set in Johannesburg.
So I’m going to go with the Moshegh for now and put the Brink onto my list to read later in the year.
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