Warlight
by Michael Ondaatje
Sri Lankan-born Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje is a prolific poet, but is perhaps best known for a novel that was later adapted into a hugely successful movie: The English Patient. Warlight is the author's is his first novel in seven years, and like much of Ondaatje's work it tells a story on an international scale. The action is initially set in the immediate aftermath of World War II and is narrated by teenager Nathaniel. He and his sister have been abandoned in mysterious circumstances by their parents, and are instead looked after by a colourful crew of potential criminals. It's only a dozen years later that Nathaniel tries to figure out what actually happened, and why his mother returned without a word. Ondaatje's prose is beautiful, and he successfully builds suspense and tension without seeming too heavy-handed. However, it's undeniable that the most exciting and interesting part of the book is the beginning, with its captivating range of characters. When they disappear, the storyline becomes greyer, and Ondaatje relies too much on unanswered questions to hold attention.
The Female Persuasion
by Meg Wolitzer
Meg Wolitzer's twelfth book follows Greer Kadetsky, an ambitious but shy student who is struggling to figure out who she is and how she fits into the modern world. Seeking a sense of purpose, Greer's life is turned upside down when she meets Faith Frank, a prominent second-wave feminist speaker. Greer soon finds herself drawn to Faith's energy and ultimately ends up working for her after she graduates. Through the pair's complex relationship of mentor and mentee, Wolitzer explores important themes of how to live a politically meaningful life and what feminism means to different generations of women. There's lots to enjoy here - the plot is pacy and you'll come to care and deeply invest in these characters through Wolitzer's brilliantly sharp prose, but this is also a book that grapples with plenty of the big gender topics, but fails to say anything particularly radical about them.
The Last Children Of Tokyo
by Yoko Tawada
"Nothing is more frightening than a law that has never been enforced," - Yoko Tawada's Tokyo-set novel of ideas is full of thoughtful observations of this sort. The action takes place in a post-Apocalyptic Japan which has sealed itself off from the outside world and is gradually returning to traditional ways of living. It is a strange world where the old people live forever and the children struggle with massive health problems under a totalitarian government that rules by euphemism and unspecified fear. Centenarian Yoshiro's unending vigilance in the care for his desperately sick great grandson Mumei forms a great deal of the substance of the novel. It's not a laugh a minute, but nonetheless is full of quiet humour, and the fine detail and neat inversions of contemporary life which Tawada supplies are a continual source of interest for those readers willing to tackle something a little out of the ordinary.
The Day War Came
by Nicola Davies
Children's author and poet Nicola Davies was outraged by the British government's decision to not accept unaccompanied child refugees in 2016. When she heard a child refugee had been turned away from a school near a refugee camp because there wasn't a chair for her to sit on, it was just another story of many that prompted a poem and that poem has now turned into a book illustrated by Rebecca Cobb. It isn't an easy read with its descriptions of the impact of war, and in a sense harks back to some of the horrors of Grimms' Fairy Tales, but it ends on a hopeful note about the power of kindness and the potential for a better future. Parents reading it to their children may need to be ready to talk about what it means, but it could open up discussions about what is on the news every day, and how we can help.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here