The Radio 2 Book Club has just announced its Summer Season booklist! As well as coverage on Sara’s show, and other shows on Radio 2, there is a weekly podcast on BBC Sounds.
The Radio 2 Book Club’s weekly podcast will shine a light on some of the best new fiction being published in the UK, across all genres. The books are chosen with help from library staff and other reading experts from across the UK to ensure a fair and unbiased selection process. On alternate weeks, the podcast will feature other great book-related content, including librarians, book clubs, readers and other fantastic guests.
As it always has done, the Radio 2 Book Club will champion new voices as well as featuring some of the most popular authors writing today, with a range of novels that listeners will love. Sara will also get an insight into the craft and writing process of the chosen authors and hear from listeners about what they have been reading and enjoying too.
We’re delighted to share the seven books that will be featured in this season of the Radio 2 Book Club with Sara Cox:
The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
That’s the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself. Sometimes you think they’ve ended, when they’ve barely begun…
London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. The Punchbowl and Pineapple, her confectionary shop on Piccadilly, is barely turning a profit, and her suppliers are conspiring to put her out of business. So, when she learns that her husband had a large sum of money in his bank account that she knew nothing about, the surprise is extremely welcome. And when William Devereux, a friend of her late husband, tells her about a new Italian delicacy called “iced cream”, Hannah believes it might transform the fortunes of her shop.
But her husband’s unexpected windfall attracts the attention of author-turned-magistrate Henry Fielding, who suspects the money was illicitly acquired. Unless Hannah can prove otherwise, her inheritance will be confiscated. As she and Devereux work to uncover the secrets of her husband’s double life, their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder.
Reader comments
“I loved the clever twists deployed in this historical crime drama about confidence tricksters set in eighteenth-century London!”
“The Art of a Lie was a novel that I revelled in, it was clever, compelling and just brilliant.”
“I loved this book! Marvellous sense of time and place and the characters were interesting and believable.”
The Compound by Aisling Rawle
You wake up in a compound in the middle of the desert, along with nine other women.
All of you are young, all beautiful, all keen to escape the grinding poverty, political unrest and environmental catastrophe of the outside world.
You realise that cameras are tracking your every move, broadcasting to millions of reality TV fans.
Soon, ten men will arrive on foot – if they all survive the journey.
What will you have to do to win?
And what happens to the losers?
Reader comments
“It’s a fast addictive read that I could not put down, the dark undercurrent of tension and menace really pulls you in—there’s so much going on in this that book clubs are going to have a feast”
“It’s well written and you’re never quite sure of what is going to happen next…”
“After I finished this book, I would get confused if I’d watched the scene on TV or just read it – and that, to me, shows it understands its audience.”
Dead Lucky by Connor Hutchinson
Jamie Fletcher loves his job as an embalmer at a busy funeral home in working-class Manchester. Taking responsibility for how mourners remember their loved ones is not something he takes lightly, but Jamie has big enough problems in his own life to dwell too much on the gruesome realities he encounters daily.
His adoring yet impatient girlfriend, Rebecca, is pushing to save up for a house, but she hasn’t a clue that Jamie has been living with a gambling addiction since his early teens. Wrestling with debts and dishonesty and all the while keeping a handle on life at the funeral home, Jamie journeys through the pubs, bookmakers, casinos, and racetracks of Manchester, scrambling to erase his debts before the truth is laid bare. How far will he go to get his life back on track, and what can he take from the dead to help him get there? Fortunately, he finds plenty a sympathetic ear in those he works with, who won’t be sharing his secrets any time soon.
The day arrives when Jamie decides to risk it all and he places every penny he owns onto a high stakes bet. Will everything come crashing down, or will his life be remade?
Reader comments
“The writing is taut, engaging and very funny yet there is a serious message. The characters are somewhat relatable; they are flawed but likeable.”
“The book is quite easy to get lost in because of the emotional element.”
“The writer manages to pull us into this claustrophobic work of a life spiralling out of control as he risks losing what little he has succeeded at…”
Katabasis by R. F. Kuang
Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld.
Grad student Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become the brightest mind in the field of analytic magick.
But the only person who can make her dream come true is dead and – inconveniently – in Hell. And Alice, along with her biggest rival Peter Murdoch, is going after him.
But Hell is not as the philosophers claim, its rules are upside-down, and if she’s going to get out of there alive, she and Peter will have to work together.
That’s if they can agree on anything.
Will they triumph, or kill each other trying?
Reader comments
“The story was emotional and intriguing, littered with philosophical questions and theories that aren’t dumbed down for an uninformed reader but are explained in a way that respects the reader’s integrity.”
“It’s a magical mix of enemies-to-lovers romance and dark academia fantasy, taking you on a wild ride through hell.”
“I really liked the way the story journeys both literally and emotionally.”
The Two Roberts by Damian Barr
He will stay like this forever, Robert’s arm draped round him. They will be forever twenty.
Scotland, 1933. Bobby MacBryde is on his way. After years grafting at Lees Boot Factory, he’s off to the Glasgow School of Art, to his future. On his first day he will meet another Robert, a quiet man with loose dark curls – and never leave his side.
Together they will spend every penny and every minute devouring Glasgow – its botanical gardens, the Barras market, a whole hidden city – all the while loving each other behind closed doors. With the world on the brink of war, their unrivalled talent will take them to Paris, Rome, London. They will become stars as the bombs fall, hosting wild parties with the likes of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon and Elizabeth Smart. But the brightest stars burn fastest.
Stunningly reimagined, The Two Roberts is a profoundly moving story of devotion and obsession, art and class. It is a love letter to MacBryde and Colquhoun, the almost-forgotten artists who tried to change the way the world sees – and paid a devastating price.
Reader comments
“A really interesting look at the fickle world of art – how one can go from being celebrated to penniless as trends shift.”
“The narrative seemed to bounce along in such a carefree way that before long I found I didn’t want to stop reading.”
“The Two Roberts is a beautifully immersive read, rich in character and atmosphere.”
A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna
In a village in rural Pakistan, Tara is waiting and watching. The smell of dung and dust hangs over her world. She is desperate to leave the petty life of the village and escape the iron grip of her violent, unpredictable brother. Marrying a middle-class accountant allows her to escape to the capital, but she soon finds that life as a respectable housewife is not sufficient either. She wants what the rich mothers at her children’s school have. She wants what their husbands have. Her desire for wealth and freedom becomes an obsession. But can she truly shake her past? And what of the menacing spectre of her brother, a reminder of the threads that tie her to the life she left behind?
Set against a hypnotic, oppressive backdrop of political violence and natural disaster, A Splintering traces the class struggle of a woman stuck between province and metropolis, between motherhood and ambition. Disquieting and utterly gripping, it is an extraordinary achievement by Dur e Aziz Amna, an exploration of a complex and unforgettable character who will risk everything to carve out a life of her own.
Reader comments
“I found this book very compelling; it was easy to read, and I was constantly chasing what happened next.”
“Set against the political unrest of Pakistan in the 1970’s this is a gripping tale of a young girl’s journey from teenage years to adulthood who desperately wants more from her life than being stuck in a village and she will do almost anything to get it.”
“I found it quite poignant especially as we see the rise in global inequality with the rich getting even richer and the working people struggling to get by.”
Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R Weaver
A MAN ON THE EDGE.
A WORLD ON THE BRINK.
A TRUTH THAT COULD DESTROY EVERYTHING.
In 2050, investigative journalist Marcus Tully is still grieving the loss of his wife and unborn child in the deadly heatwave that struck the Persian Gulf ten years ago.
Now, the world is both burning and drowning, and the decision has been taken to elect a global leader to steer humanity through the worsening climate apocalypse. The final two candidates are ex-US president Lockwood, and Solomon, an Artificial Intelligence.
As election day races closer, Tully begins to unravel a conspiracy that goes to the highest level. Then Solomon’s creator is murdered, and Tully is pulled in to find the culprit.
As the two investigations intertwine in ways he could never have imagined and the world hurtles ever closer to the brink, Tully must find the truth, convince the world to face it and make impossible choices to secure the future of the species.
But will humanity ultimately choose salvation over freedom, whatever the cost?
Reader comments
“I thought the concept was fascinating and it successfully blended a lot of current issues including climate breakdown, AI, extreme wealth into a pacy whodunnit read which I couldn’t put down.”
“There are many twists in the plot and the ending is both satisfying and dark.”
“This novel is a riveting exploration of a dystopian future where climate catastrophe and artificial intelligence collide.”
For all the latest Book Club content, including interviews with the authors, visit BBC Sounds. You can even subscribe, to make sure you never miss an episode!
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