This week's literary fiction landscape features three new releases: Avni Doshi's "The First House," Alex Hyde's "Exhibition," and Marta Pérez-Carbonell's "I Made You Up Inside My Head."
Avni Doshi's "The First House" follows a writer and mother of two whose husband abruptly leaves. Doshi, a U.S. novelist based in Dubai, was a finalist for the Booker Prize in 2020 for her novel "Burnt Sugar." The new novel, described as claustrophobic, depicts the protagonist's struggle to cope with the separation while managing family life and children's preoccupations with smartphones, further complicated by a meddling aunt. Her creative work suffers as she seeks guidance from astrological charts. While the narrator's self-pity can be challenging for readers, the narrative draws them in with gradually revealed instances of the husband's manipulative behavior. The novel is noted for its engrossing quality and memorable, at times vicious, scenes.
Alex Hyde's debut novel, "Exhibition," utilizes a style similar to his previous work, "Violets," which explored the lives of two women during wartime. This new novel examines the complicated relationship between a photographer and a painter, likened to Tracey Emin, within the vibrant London art scene of the 1990s. The narrative is delivered through the photographer's recollections addressed to the painter, detailing their diverging paths and a significant reunion two decades later in New York. A point of tension arises because the painter achieved fame using uncredited 'self-portraits' based on the photographer's work, while the photographer paused her career to care for her mother. The reviewer suggests the novel could benefit from more narrative depth but finds it a compelling portrayal of celebrity viewed from the periphery.
Marta Pérez-Carbonell's "I Made You Up Inside My Head" is a mystery set on the Caledonian Sleeper train. The novel explores the ethical complexities of fiction's relationship to real life, drawing a parallel to a reported incident involving Natalie Portman and a portrayal in a Rachel Cusk novel. The protagonist, Alicia, a translator, engages in a conversation with Terry, a novelist whose latest book has caused controversy due to its connection to a missing young Swiss man with whom he had a past relationship. As their discussion touches upon storytelling ethics, chapters from Terry's book are interspersed with glimpses of Alicia's past, including a difficult relationship that led her to leave Spain. The novel is described as having fertile thematic material, but the reviewer notes a lack of friction between its various elements, which diminishes its impact.
