The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (Virago, £7.99)
Selection as a Richard and Judy's Spring Read should bring this charming, intelligent tale of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson, to a wider audience. McLain captures the appeal Hemingway had for Richardson (both their fathers killed themselves, both had dominant mothers), as well as the atmosphere of ex-pat Paris during the "Jazz Age".
A Man Of Parts by David Lodge (Vintage, £7.99)
Lodge's marrying of biographical and fictional techniques in his novelisation of HG Wells's life (he has Wells interviewed in a Q&A, for instance) is full of exuberance and handled with great confidence, despite its riskiness. And a risque cover, too, with near-naked women indicating Wells's numerous extramarital affairs, which dominate this tale.
Occupy! Scenes From Occupied America edited by Astra Taylor, Keith Gessen and others (Verso, £9.99)
An attempt to refute the perception that the Occupy movement is dominated by counterculture descendants or rich students, this lively, angry book interviews a variety of protesters from the main former encampment on Zucotti Square in Manhattan, and explores the roots of the protest that has spread worldwide. Eclectic but also thoughtful.
The Stranger In The Mirror: A Memoir Of Middle Age
by Jane Shilling
(Vintage, £8.99)
Shilling's 50th birthday altered her perception of both her past self and her future self. She decries the lack of media representation of women her age, and writes eloquently about her relationships with her mother and two grandmothers, and how they helped shape her sense of identity that "middle age" subsequently undermined.
Lesley McDowell
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