British Drama and Comedy, Modern Japan, an Unusual Detecting Heroine, and A Whimsical Fable

Mr. Wilder & Me by Jonathan Coe

Coe is the author of Middle England, his previous novel that was hailed as a return to form for this author who I’ve followed for over 25 years now. He’s had the knack of mixing recent History with compelling fictional characters that help us gain a better understanding of current events and Society. With this latest, Coe uses a female protagonist named Calista as our guide to the world of Hollywood and cinema in the 1970’s. Tackling show business lore and legend, the ‘legends’ in this case, would be renowned movie director, Billy Wilder, and his writing partner in the 70’s, Iz. Against the backdrop of the filming of Wilder’s penultimate movie, Fedora; we're gifted with a fascinating glimpse into Hollywood life.

If you recall, Wilder was known for such iconic movies as Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot, Sabrina, Sunset Boulevard, and The Apartment, to name a few. During the filming of Fedora (1978), he was in the twilight of his career. And you’ll love the mentions of Spielberg and Jaws, the appearance of Al Pacino, and the cameo of Henry Fonda on the Fedora set in Greece. They’re all historically on spot; and the weaving of these true to life events in the fictitious story are beautifully rendered. Hired as a PA on Fedora, then later evolving into a film composer, it is equally illuminating to follow Calista’s trajectory in the cinema world. This may be a ‘small’ book in the body of Coe novels, but it’s a minor masterpiece, and one worth seeking out.

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor

This is Taylor’s debut novel, and it's one he’s going to have a hard time matching. It’s one of those simple coming-of-age stories, that’s filled with so much authenticity and charm, that you’ll feel you know each character intimately by the time you reach the last few pages. Set in 1962 Yorkshire, the uncanny sense of time and place is as much a reason for the book’s success, as are the larger than life cast of memorable personalities. Evie is 16 years old, lives on a farm with her father, widower Arthur. Then there’s mother daughter Vera and Christine, the latter a housekeeper who somehow has charmed herself into Arthur’s life, and they’re now engaged.

Evie misses her mother Diana, imagining what she was like, as Evie lost her when only six months old. There’s an idiosyncratic and thoroughly wonderful neighbor, a widow who alone is Erie’s lifeline during the time depicted in the novel. At its core, it’s a modern fairy tale about Evie coping with life, and trying to forestall the life that beckons with an evil stepmother-to-be. And that’s like describing a Ferrari as a car; for this novel really knows how to suck you in with deadpan humor, compassion—you’ll be quietly laughing to yourself over so many pages, and somehow tearing and getting so involved as the story unfolds.

The Sandpit by Nicholas Shakespeare

At one point in the afterword, the author mentions this can be seen as a sequel of sorts to his 1995 novel, The Dancer Upstairs. But thankfully, other than the tenuous South American connection of our main protagonist, British journalist John Dyer, there really is no necessity to having read the first novel to be entranced by this one. Think of it as a modern-day Graham Greene, as Dyer heads back to Oxford as a single father, with son Leandro studying at the Phoenix, John’s alma mater. It's a secondary school that’s seen as a great traditionalist; the school your child attends before heading on to Harrow or Eton.

But in 2020, Phoenix is heavily populated by children from all over the world. It’s where the super-rich and powerful send their progeny to be ‘laundered’. It isn’t long before Dyer’s journalist instincts are put on alert as an Iranian research scientist befriends him by the school’s sandpit. The scientist’s son and Leandro are classmates and both are the new stars of the school’s soccer team. It seems the scientist has stumbled upon a discovery connected to nuclear fusion that major countries and big business would literally kill for. What happens as Dyer gets enmeshed in all this is what drives the novel’s quietly suspenseful storyline.

What’s Left of Me Is Yours by Stephanie Scott

This is Scott’s first novel, and it's a heady mix of modern-day Japanese culture, the way law is practiced and justice dispensed in Japan, and the gender-defining that still persists to this day. Most interestingly it blows the lid off the practice of ‘Wakaresaseya’—which literally means the breaker-upper. This refers to the covert practice of a spouse hiring a wakaresaseya to seduce his or her partner, in order to gain an advantage in the divorce proceedings. This breaker-upper is given the necessary info, finds a way to slip into the life of the ‘target’—and apparently, it’s a thriving industry.

Inspired by a real life homicide; we’re introduced to Satō, who hires Kaitarō to ‘seduce’ his wife Rina, or at the very least, introduce compromising photos. Told in alternating points of view, I loved how Scott includes Sumiko—the 7-year old daughter of the couple when the crime is committed, but now a recent law graduate. And we see how Yoshi (Rina’s widower father) tries to pick up the pieces of both his life and that of his granddaughter, when Rina becomes a casualty of this ‘war’ waged between husband and wife.

D by Michel Faber

Faber is probably best known for his The Crimson Petal and the White; and while he started this outrageously delightful novel some thirty years ago, he’s especially happy to send it to his printers on the occasion of our celebrating the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death. With obvious salutes to Thurber and to CS Lewis’ Narnia series, this is a playful, yet thoughtful, story predicated on the disappearance of the letter D. It’s fantasy and fable, allegory and comedy; and best thing is to not even try and pigeonhole the book, as it’s a storybook one could even read to one’s children before they sleep, and parents would have great fun creating the different voices, and reading all the words where the ‘d’ has disappeared from.

At the heart of this entertaining novel is an African-British girl named Dhikilo, and part of the quest is her trying to understand who her bio-Mom from Somaliland is, and of course, rescuing the d’s. The intriguing fantastic creature is (are) Nelly and Mrs. Robinson, who regularly transforms from sphinx to labrador. The archetype old master who puts Dhikilo on her mission is history teacher Mr. Dodderfield, who during the period of the disappearing ‘d’, becomes Mr. Oerfiel. Just take my word for it, this is one precious book to keep for posterity, a modern classic in the making.

The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett

Here’s something completely out of left field, and a sheer reading delight for the fans of crime fiction. Known more for her YA titles, SJ Bennett launches a new detecting series with no other than HRH Queen Elizabeth as our intrepid amateur sleuth. Thinking about it, with the ongoing popularity of The Crown, it was only natural that some novelists would take it upon themselves to create an alternative history for British history’s longest-reigning monarch - she’s presently 94 years of age. And what better way to reinvent this royal matriarch then to posit her as someone who very subtly solves mysteries from the sidelines, while performing her queenly duties.

This first installment is well-researched and gives us a Queen Elizabeth who doesn’t get involved in any haphazard manner but takes her deducing and pulling strings very seriously. You’ll love the references to the royal family, her relationship with Prince Philip, and her treatment of the staff. The crime to be solved revolves around a Russian pianist who performed at Windsor and was found strangled the next morning, an apparent suicide. But as with books of this genre, things are never what they seem, and it isn’t long before our well-loved Queen is juggling solving the crime, while still taking her corgis for a walk, and enjoying the annual Windsor Horse Show.