Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

“Hana wakes up on the morning she is to take over her father’s pawnshop, where the lost can exchange regrets for peace of mind, to find her father missing. In walks Keishan, a young physicist from the other world she has never been to, who offers her something she has has only ever taken from others – a choice. 

Here begins a spellbinding journey through a Ghibliesque version of Japan full of magic and myth, where memories can be bartered, time can be folded like paper, and night markets appear in the clouds, where appearances are not what they seem, and free will is pitted against fate. This romantic, dreamlike tale of love and grief is perfect for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Hayao Miyazaki..” – Soffi


Juice by Tim Winton

“A man and a young girl are driving over a scorched Australian landscape, looking for refuge from the heat of the Summer to come and the other more unspeakable threats that this new world have to offer.  Whilst casing an abandoned mine they find something more, and the result is a journey into the man’s past.  A story of a scarred world, but by no means the end of the world.  Not yet.  And into this story we are left to discover what it takes to make it in such a world, where life is hard, opportunities scarce and a certain amount of grit is required that could result in one forsaking their human decency. 

It’s become a bit of a trend for me to read my favourite book of the year, at the start of the year, and yet here we are again!  This novel had me gripped from the offset, from the almost perceptible sense of place that Winton has created, to the story, of which I knew almost nothing about, resulting in many surprises and a lot of suspense.  And I believe that is the way Winton has intended it.  Nothing is ever spelled out, but often the little details do an incredible job in creating a more unfamiliar, yet not unfeasible future.  And it has left me thinking.” – Henry


Eurotrash by Christian Kracht

“A man collects his 80-year-old mother from a mental institution in Zurich and the pair set off on a madcap road trip across the Swiss Alps.  

As mother and son confront their family’s dark history – their wealth built mostly on Nazi plunder and devious schemes – they decide to give their money away to ease their consciences. But that doesn’t prove as easy a task as they might have thought… 

Provocative, darkly funny, and surprisingly moving, this comic novel about serious stuff, by the great Swiss writer of his generation, is a great read for fans of Bret Easton Ellis and Karl Ove Knausgård. “ – Tom M