A Long Petal
of the Sea, by
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende’s
latest novel is a
thumping read,
following the life of
a young doctor from
Barcelona, forcibly
transplanted to Chile
during the Spanish
Civil War (aboard a
ship chartered by the
Chilean poet Pablo
Neruda, no less).
Raised in Chile and
exiled to Venezuela,
Allende understands
the rippling effects
of being uprooted
herself, and this
story focuses on
the lasting impact
of displacement.
(Bloomsbury, £16.99)Island of Secrets,
by Rachel Rhys
This summer’s
ebullient beach
read (or, perhaps
local park read) is
set in 1950s Cuba, a
country on the cusp
of revolution. Bored
Iris from the home
counties happens
on an invitation to
Havana, where she
has ambitions of
becoming an artist.
She soon uncovers
gangsters, socialites
and fated romance;
the latest from
the Nigerian-born
multiple-pen-named-
writer of mystery and
crime fiction. Due in
paperback July 2020.
(Black Swan, £7.99)The Parisian, by
Isabella Hammad
A love story, of
sorts, moving
from Palestine to
Montpellier then
Paris in the decades
before the Second
World War, this is
a tale of how global
politics and cultural
identity shapes
individual lives. A
vivid rendering of
both one Palestinian
life in transition, and
of a vastly shifting
world order, this
ambitious debut
novel has been
shortlisted for the
Edward Stanford
Travel Writing
Awards. (Vintage
Publishing, £9.99)Suncatcher,
by Romesh
Gunesekera
Take a trip to 1960s
Sri Lanka with
Romesh Gunesekera,
who was shortlisted
for the Booker Prize
for Fiction and the
Guardian Fiction
Prize for his debut
novel, Reef. This
story is set in Ceylon
during mid-century
political upheaval.
With schools closed
and the government
floundering, the
young protagonist
has to rely on his
developing strength
of character. This
really is a fitting
read for our times.
(Bloomsbury, £8.99)Love After Love,
by Ingrid Persaud
The follow up to
The Sweet Sop,
which won both the
Commonwealth
Short Story Prize
2017 and the BBC
National Short Story
Award 2018, in Love
After Love, Ingrid
Persaud mines
tender human truths
from otherwise
invisible, small-
town Caribbean
lives. The everyday
family houses, back
gardens and streets
of Trinidad are firmly
in frame, brought
sharply to life with
colloquial, rhythmic
Trini dialect.
(Faber, £14.99)The Death of
Vivek Oji, by
Akwaeke Emezi
This second novel
from Wellcome Book
Prize and Women’s
Prize for Fiction
nominee Akwaeke
Emezi offers up a
chronicle of a death
foretold, examining
the events leading
up to the mysterious
demise of the titular
young Nigerian. Raw,
strange and packed
with a contrasting
cast of characters,
this is a tale whose
atmosphere lingers
long after the reading
is done, not least its
striking account of
modern day Nigeria.
(Faber, £12.99)Whether it’s Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Chile, Havana or Paris, journey around the world
with fictional tales that conjure a crackling sense of place. Words: Sarah BarrellTHE GREAT ESCAPE
THE WORD
IMAGE: GETTY
Jul/Aug 2020 29SMART TRAVELLER