september-october 2025 books…

Hot Milk (Deborah Levy): First published in 2016, it tells of Sofia, a 25-year-old anthropologist-cum-barista, who has accompanied her mother Rose to southern Spain to attend a clinic in search of a diagnosis of and treatment for Rose’s mysterious and erratic paralysis. They have re-mortgaged their small London house to fund the trip. The mother’s wheelchair existence (although she frequently walks without it) has meant that Sofia’s life is bound by chains of control and dependency. They rent a beach house while the mother undergoes all sorts of tests administered by a doctor who could well turn out to be a ‘quack’. Despite all the relaxing sunshine, it’s quite a complex book - with Sofia becoming obsessed with a German seamstress; involved with a student manning the beach ‘injury hut’; and meeting up with her rich father in Athens (who she hadn’t seen for some 14 years and who had effectively abandoned her). It’s a novel about families, relationships, identity, coming-of age… and anger. It felt like the kind of book one reads on holiday. I read it quickly and quite enjoyed it.
Wilderness Taunts (Ian Adams): I’ve read this excellent book, by my great friend Ian, several times since it was first published (2016) and have again been using it as a basis for my recent early morning reflections (despite the fact that it’s geared towards Lent). It’s a book of meditations (and beautiful photographic images) exploring some of the demanding challenges that we all face to remain positive in this difficult world. Once again, I found it a very helpful, testing and yet, ultimately, hopeful book. 
Poems (Anna Akhmatova): Further poems from Akhmatova’s various books of poems I started last month (beautifully translated by DM Thomas). I continued to read it quite slowly (and out loud to myself) on a daily, early morning basis… and have now completed the final four books of the collection (‘Reed’, ‘The Seventh Book’, ‘Requiem’ and ‘Poem Without A Hero’). I’ve loved her writing and will no doubt come back to it on a regular basis.
So Shall You Reap (Donna Leon): Yet another Leon Commissario Brunetti Mystery (I know!). It seems somewhat ridiculous that crime mysteries have frequently become my ‘comfort read’, but hey! This one, published in 2023, relates to the discovery of the body of a Sri Lankan immigrant in one of Venice’s canals – which sets Brunetti to reflect back on his student days (of lost ideals and the errors of youth) and on Italian politics and history. Leon clearly has established a very successful writing formula: a mix of Venice’s beauty (with endless descriptions of Brunetti’s various routes through the city – linked, of course, to a street map at the beginning of the book and one’s own recollections of the city)(sometimes I think she overdoes this… and she just loves showing off her knowledge of Venice!); Brunetti’s family, his colleagues and his genial character (unless you’re a criminal); and the fact that most people enjoy a good crime novel. A clever, satisfying story and one that I very much enjoyed.
The Land In Winter (Andrew Miller): This is our next Storysmith bookgroup selection (theme: Booker Shortlist). This is a novel, set in the BigFreeze of 1962/63, about two marriages – two young couples who live in neighbouring houses in the West Country. Eric (Birmingham-born GP from working-class background) and Irene (all at sea compared with her old life in literary London); Bill (Oxford-educated “rich man’s son playing at farming” – but struggling) and Rita (former nightclub dancer, now farm wife). Both women are pregnant and form an unlikely friendship following an awkward Christmas party at Eric+Irene’s (just before the blizzards take over). I suppose it’s book about class and gender in the aftermath of WW2 (rationing is over, but life is still pretty tough)(the war and the Holocaust have taken their toll for both Bill and Rita’s fathers, in particular). There were aspects of the BigFreeze – which I remember as a 13-year-old! – that reflected some aspects of our lives during the Covid lockdown (isolation; travel difficulties; keeping in touch; shopping restrictions etc). It’s the story of the two women that provided the main fascination/interest for me. Both women are pregnant and both struggling to adjust to their unfamiliar rural surroundings with what their future lives will bring. Their lives are somewhat dictated by the desires and whims of their respective husbands (the days of Women’s Lib are still a little way off!). It’s a novel about dreams, relationships, families, adjustment, mistakes and uncertainty. All four individuals are each battling problems and then, on top of this, a tough winter is thrown at them. I found it a compelling read (brilliantly woven) and despite their various flaws, you end up hoping that the characters will find a way to get through it all. I don’t want to give too much away… but I can certainly see why the book made the Booker Shortlist.