The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
(translated by Lara Vernaud)
This audacious, brilliant novel begins with a (fictional) legendary, forgotten book, The Labyrinth of Inhumanity. Written by the enigmatic T. C. Elimane, it was reportedly the first novel to appear in French by a Black African, causing consternation from intellectuals and reviewers in 1930s Paris. Many declared the novel an elaborate hoax, unbelieving that such a profound work could be written by an African. Then, in the chaos of the ensuing War, Elimane and his novel disappeared, never to be heard from again.
In 2018, a young Senegalese writer stumbles across a copy of The Labyrinth of Inhumanity, and soon becomes obsessed with the text and the legend of its author. Thus ensues a quest to find the true origins of both the book and Elimane. It is a journey that will reach back through more than a century, from Senegal, to France and Amsterdam, Argentina and beyond.
The Secret Memory of Men, which won France’s most prestigious book prize, the Prix Goncourt, in 2021, is profound and witty, meaty and poetic, sprawling and confident. Sarr takes his cues from Roberto Bolano as he riffs on the vitality of literature, the legacy of colonialism, and the search for truth in a chaotic world. This is jaw-droppingly original fiction. – Tom M
Saltblood by Francesca de Tores
Inspired by the real lives of female pirates, this is the best historical adventure I have read in a long time.
As a child, Mary Read took the identity of her deceased half-brother to guarantee income from a wealthy relative. The ruthlessness of her mother pushes her into service, where she continues to dress in men’s clothing to avoid dangers and discrimination. When war breaks out, her horizons widen, and she becomes a sailor. From then on, her life is defined by her sense of belonging at sea.
Throughout her time in the navy and army, on private ships and pirate ships, she befriends and falls in love with characters who also break convention and match her appetite for adventure.
Mary lives a fascinating life that refuses to be compromised by 1600s gender roles, her body defined by its chosen pleasures and pains of a hard life at sea. – Katrina
Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashibawa
(translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa)
From an extremely prolific Japanese children’s author – who inspired Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved Spirited Away – comes a newly translated story for fans of The House with Chicken Legs and Kiki’s Delivery Service.
When Kazu wakes to find a girl in a white kimono sneaking through his house in the middle of the night, he knows something is off. But when the girl shows up at his school the next day, everyone knows who she is and remembers her. Everyone except Kazu.
Kazu can’t rest until he discovers the truth behind this ghost girl and his family home, which may or may not be the site of a temple that brings people back from the dead. But when his investigations attract the attention of the neighbourhood committee and a nosy cat, everything could be derailed before Kazu even gets close to the answers.
This book-within-a-book was full of small town charm, heart, Japanese lore, coming-of-age, and a story to get lost inside! – Hannah