CONTEMPORARY

LONG ISLAND COMPROMISE by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

(Wildfire £20, 464pp)

The author of 2019’s smash hit Fleishman is in Trouble returns with another epic family saga. starring the richest family in Middle rock, the Fletchers, it focuses on the mixed blessings of inherited wealth.

The family seem to be the personification of the American dream. They believe their money insulates them from danger until 1983, when Carl Fletcher is kidnapped and held hostage until a ransom is paid.

Carl’s mother phyllis refuses to let him dwell on the horrors of what happened, downgrading the brutal attack to a brief, forgettable inconvenience.

When phyllis dies decades later, it becomes apparent that Carl, his wife ruth and their three children remain hostages in different ways to this traumatic event.

it hooked me from the first line and although the characters are often unlikeable, i was captivated by them. i loved it.

THE DIVORCE by Moa Herngren

(Manilla Press £16.99, 400pp)

WheN long-married couple Bea and Niklas have one of their normal minor rows, the last thing she expects is that he won’t come home after dinner with his friends. Together for more than 30 years and with teenage twin daughters, this is the first time Niklas has done anything like this.

When Niklas eventually tells Bea he’s not coming back, she assumes he’s having some kind of breakdown.

What ensues is a compelling portrait of a marriage in trouble, with the first half told from Bea’s perspective and the second from Niklas’s.

This emotional deep-dive proves there are indeed two sides to every story.

Despite Bea’s initial shock, the narrative shows constant red flags that have been missed. Thought-provoking.

ORDINARY TIME by Cathy Rentzenbrink

(Phoenix £20, 368pp) i rACeD through this beautifully written, very wise book about love, duty, family and loyalty. Ann is a vicar’s wife who is struggling with the role and also with her husband, Tim, who cares far more about God and his parishioners than he does about her and their young son, sam.

True to form, he doesn’t consider Ann or sam when he accepts a job in rural Cornwall. The locals treat the place as their own, barely bothering to knock, and their dining room is full of church jumble.

if Tim was nicer to them maybe the circumstances wouldn’t matter, but as it is, Ann allows herself, for the first time, to think about how her marriage isn’t working. When Ann spends some time with her brother in London she meets someone unexpected and everything changes. Wonderful.