5 new books to read this week

This week’s top book is an unsettling look into the rise of ‘tradwives’ on social media…

Fiction

1. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is published in hardback by Fourth Estate, priced £16.99 (ebook £9.99). Available now

Caro Claire Burke manages to spin your emotions, so you go from abject horror at tradwife influencer Natalie’s beliefs, to pitying her, to grudgingly agreeing with her (on certain things) and then going right back to horror – it’s like being in a highly orchestrated washing machine. Yesteryear is Natalie’s all-American ranch, from which she pops out babies and Instagram videos with apparent aplomb. But then she wakes up in the late 1880s, and the lifestyle she’s idealised for millions on social media is suddenly very real and very cold, and while she’s surrounded by her family, they aren’t her actual one, are they? Yesteryear deftly blends the alarming (Natalie leaving her baby in the car when she goes to the supermarket), with the mundane (putting up with her useless, manosphere-obsessed husband) and a deeply woven anger, at the world and other women. A spectacularly dark exploration of what some people will go through to project perfection, and how the rest of us will avidly watch.
9/10
(Review by Ella Walker)

2. My Year In Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy is published in hardback by Hamish Hamilton, priced £18.99 (ebook £9.99). Available April 16

My Year In Paris With Gertrude Stein heralds the return of Booker-shortlisted author Deborah Levy with another masterpiece of observation and introspection. An anonymous student is in Paris researching writer Gertrude Stein, and is experiencing the fullness of the city with her cosmopolitan friends: Eva with the aquamarine eyes, and libertine financier, Fanny. Against the turmoil of the 21st century, where wars and political turmoil are present with every scroll, Levy juxtaposes Stein’s interactions with Picasso and Matisse, crafting Stein’s biography as Fanny cooks raclette and mourns the results of the 2024 American elections, and Eva searches for her missing cat. Beneath it all, as the narrator peels back the layers from the life and times of the avant-garde icon, she holds a mirror up to our own existence, asking us to question what it means to be modern and, above all, what it means to be ourself.
8/10
(Review by Hannah Colby)

3. Transcription by Ben Lerner is published in hardback by Granta Books, priced £14.99 (ebook £14.99). Available now

In his latest novella Transcription, Ben Lerner explores our relationships with both humans and technology. In doing so, he has crafted a thought-provoking, emotional and challenging story that consumes the reader. Transcription is a story in three parts, beginning as the narrator conducts a final interview with his ageing mentor, Thomas, but is beset by the major issue of his phone – his only method of recording – becoming unusable. He doesn’t come clean to Thomas, leading to an awkward scenario, even more so when his interview is lauded as a huge success during the second part of the story. Finally, the third part deals with issues of fatherhood, eating disorders and a moving examination of relationships on all levels. It’s like nothing you’ll have read before, and is hard to forget once completed.
8/10
(Review by Karl Hornsey)

Non-fiction

4. London Falling: A Mysterious Death In A Gilded City And A Family’s Search For Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe is published in hardback by Picador, priced £22 (ebook £10.99). Available now

Far removed from the foggy East End alleys that traditionally provide the capital’s true crime staple, Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling peels back the layers on a contemporary underworld that proves every bit as chilling. Keefe describes the chain of events that plunged Zac Brettler, a teenager from a comfortable home in Maida Vale, into a fantastical web of greed and deceit that ultimately led to him plunging to his death from a plush Thames-side apartment. As in his previous and equally gripping Say Nothing, about the Northern Ireland Troubles, Keefe draws on a variety of sources to construct a compelling account of the unfolding tragedy and, in particular Brettler’s final, fateful night. Keefe clinically dissects the shady forces linked to his demise and rigorously questions the reluctant conclusions of those charged with investigating his death. In doing so, Keefe offers a gripping yet deeply unsettling account of a city increasingly held hostage by the cult of tyrannical excess.
9/10
(Review by Mark Staniforth)

Children’s book of the week

5. Super Uma! by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Nakul P., is published in paperback by Puffin, priced £7.99 (ebook £3.99). Available April 16

Lawyer-turned-children’s author Rashmi Sirdeshpande’s latest offering is an action packed superhero tale, following Uma with her trusty unicorn sidekick and her Nani on hand for extra help. Uma spends her time going on rescue missions and spreading joy in her home town, Sparkleopolis, while finding time to snack on the occasional samosa from Nani. When the normally bright and vibrant Sparkleopolis starts draining colour and shine, Uma – along with Chip the unicorn and Nani – set out to find out who could be to blame, and work out how to get the city back to normal. It’s a fun and imaginative romp and kids will love the bright illustrations, but ultimately the story is a bit twee and predictable.
6/10
(Review by Lily Rose)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING APRIL 11

HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. Rites Of The Starling by Devney Perry
2. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
3. The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke
4. The Name Game by Beth O’Leary
5. Bloodsinger by Juliette Cross
6. Starside by Alex Aster
7. Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister
8. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
9. Transcription by Ben Lerner
10. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)
1. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
2. Game Changer by Ellie Kildunne
3. Enough Said by Alan Bennett
4. Rasputin by Antony Beevor
5. Pinch Of Nom Air Fryer Light & Easy by Kate Allinson & Kay Allinson
6. Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins & Sawyer Robbins
7. Bloody Dangerous by Colin Bell
8. Queen Elizabeth II by Hugo Vickers
9. Elizabeth II by Robert Hardman
10. Pet Shop Boys Volume by Chris Heath & Philip Hoare
(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NONFICTION)
1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
2. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
3. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by J.K. Rowling
5. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
6. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
7. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
8. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
9. My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney
10. The Names by Florence Knapp
(Compiled by Audible)