New books to read this week

Fiction

The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer is published in hardback by Gallery UK

A stolen cat, a vanished girlfriend, a homeless bathroom salesman, a quirky trinket in the shape of a long shoe, and strange goings-on in luxury apartments called Satsuma Heights. It can only be the latest book by comedian turned prize-winning novelist Bob Mortimer. The bathroom salesman – Matt – loses his job, and his girlfriend Harriet – and then, out of the blue, is offered the chance to live rent-free in Satsuma Heights, as long as he spies on other residents. He hopes it will signal a change in his life and be a chance to win back Harriet – but she has mysteriously disappeared and won’t answer his increasingly desperate calls. The plot thickens when Matt gradually realises with horror what might have happened to the love of his life. Following in the same successful vein as his previous novels, The Satsuma Complex and The Hotel Avocado, Mortimer’s trademark humour makes The Long Shoe a delight to read.

Heart the Lover by Lily King is published in hardback by Canongate Books

On the face of it, Heart the Lover is a simple love triangle, but Lily King’s writing is so gorgeously balanced, so full of nuance and care, that this story of two young men – Yash and Sam – who meet our (mostly unnamed) narrator in her final year of college, transcends the concept. She is folded into their creative, literature-obsessed lives and finds herself debating writers, smoking pipes and playing cards with these two boys whose friendships cascade towards first love. And then, in proper adulthood, as a mother, wife and celebrated author, one of them comes to visit, pushing her to grapple with the inescapable residue of her feelings, and the wounding way they’d parted. King distills all the turmoil, doubts and incandescent headiness of young love, and what happens when it comes up against reality, in a way that’ll make the reader reconsider their own formative experiences. Heart the Lover is also devastatingly sad, yet beautifully uplifting.

The Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur, is published in hardback by Dialogue Books

South Korean writer Bora Chung’s The Midnight Timetable is a slim but disconcerting collection of short stories set in a research institute devoted to cursed objects. Sheep, cats and even a handkerchief take centre stage in stories that oscillate between fable and horror. Chung uses the conceit of the cursed-object institute to explore themes of animal testing, domestic violence and other abuses of power. The translation, by Anton Hur, is unembellished and readable and the repeated setting gives the book a real sense of cohesion. At times, the emphasis on mood over plot can feel slightly aimless, and the steady accumulation of cruelty may not be for all readers, but nevertheless, as a portrait of the weird currents running beneath everyday life, it leaves an unnerving but thrilling impression.

Non-fiction

Middleland by Rory Stewart is published in hardback by Jonathan Cape

Spending almost a decade as the MP for Penrith and the Border clearly had an enormous impact on the life of Rory Stewart. He revisits his time in the deeply rural constituency through his updated thoughts on a selection of columns originally written for a local newspaper, between 2009 and 2019. Stewart’s move away from the political frontline into being one half of the hugely popular The Rest is Politics podcast, opposite Alastair Campbell, has clearly given him perspective and a chance to look back at what he got right, and wrong, during his career as an MP. A deep connection with those he served and a love of rural life shines through in this fascinating and honest collection of daily anecdotes and stories of everyday folk, and of how the best intentions often end up on stony ground due to the realities of national politics.

Children’s book of the week

Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm by Charlie Mackesy is published in hardback by Ebury Press

Artist and author Charlie Mackesy returns with a follow-up to his award-winning, bestselling illustrated book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – which spawned an animated movie that captured audiences across Christmas 2022. Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm is a natural sequel to his previous work, taking four unlikely friends on a journey through stormy weathers, remarking on their inner strengths, personal triumphs, their bond, and the value of loving oneself. While it will win no awards for narrative storytelling or uniqueness, Mackesy’s gorgeously illustrated work is no less a thing of beauty. Heart-wrenchingly honest, pure and affirming, it is a gift that everyone should cherish.