Four novels to read in April

Romantic Comedy, Curtis Sittenfeld

Curtis Sittenfeld’s fictionalised biography of former first lady Laura Bush, American Wife (2008), was a critically acclaimed instant best-seller, as was Rodham (2020), which explores the question of what might have happened if Hillary Clinton had not married Bill. Sittenfeld’s ability to use fiction to explore contemporary issues have made her an important voice in American literature.

In Romantic Comedy, 36-year-old Sally Milz, a writer for The Night Owls, a late-night live comedy show based on Saturday Night Live, has forsworn love after several heartbreaks, deciding to focus on her career instead. But then she meets pop idol Noah Brewster, and the chemistry is immediate. Can a mediocre looking woman bag someone who is hot and famous? This is not your average romcom, however. Sittenfeld deftly deconstructs modern romance, paying homage to the genre while exploring how the norms of dating and mating intersect with gender. According to Kirkus Reviews, “the work is a pleasure, balancing probing analysis with an absorbing narrative”.

The Haunting of Alejandra by V Castro

Generations of Mexican children have grown up fearing La Llorona — a wailing woman whose vengeful ghost is said to roam near bodies of water mourning the children whom she drowned. In her latest novel, V Castro, always fascinated by Mexican folklore, tells the eerie, moving story of Alejandra, a woman haunted by the ghosts in her family’s past, and by her own demons. Adopted as a child, she has no sense of identity and finds herself sinking into darkness and despair.

With the help of her therapist, who is also a traditional healer, she discovers that the curse of La Llorona has long plagued the women in her family; it is her task to break the cycle of torture and anguish. This tale of multigenerational trauma will appeal to fans of folklore and literary horror. The Library Journal describes The Haunting of Alejandra as “utterly terrifying and wholly immersive... [the] novel will wow readers with its confident and unflinching tale of a woman reclaiming her power”.

Cursed Bread, Sophie Mackintosh

In 1951 the French town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in southern France was hit by a sudden outbreak of hallucinations which left five people dead, 50 interned in asylums, and many seriously ill. The mass poisoning was known in French as Le Pain Maudit — Cursed Bread.

Sophie Mackintosh, whose debut novel The Water Cure was nominated for the 2018 Booker Prize, explores this bizarre event in her latest novel, narrated by Elodie, the baker’s wife. An unremarkable woman who longs to flee her dull life, Elodie makes friends with a charming couple, new to the semirural town, an American ambassador and his glamorous wife, Violet. Set in the aftermath of the war, Elodie says, “there is such a grief in the world cracked open, one reality ending and another beginning, and no way back for any of us”.

“The novel’s denouement, which sees Mackintosh’s dark imagination and precision as a prose stylist combine to devastating effect, is as unsettling as it is unpredictable,” says the Financial Times.

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, J Ryan Stradal

Ryan Stradal is no stranger to family sagas and the problems plaguing the Midwest. In his latest novel, Ned and Mariel Prager come from families in the restaurant business. Mariel’s Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades and was left to her by her grandmother.

But now the restaurant is failing. Ned, on the other hand, is heir to a chain of homestyle diners. Unlike Mariel, he’s not much of a business-person, but he’s certain that the diners can provide a better future than Mariel’s cherished restaurant. But when a devastating tragedy changes everything, they are forced to find salvation together.

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club pays homage to Minnesotans and their resilience to economic hardship, as well as the legacy of tragedy and hope that permeates generations. Kirkus Reviews calls it “a loving ode to supper clubs, the Midwest, and the people there who try their best to make life worth living”.