World Book Day: 9 of the Best New British Books for 2017
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To celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 2 March, we bring you 9 of the best new British books for 2017.
Best new British books
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
April, 4th Estate
If you loved Even the Dogs, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things and So Many Ways to Begin, you’ll already have April in the diary for the release of Jon McGregor’s fourth novel Reservoir 13.
The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter
January, Gollancz
Expect twists and turns in this authorised sequel to HG Wells’s alien invasion classic The War of the Worlds, which is set 14 years after the Martians’ defeat.
The Unaccompanied by Simon Armitage
March, Faber
This is poet Simon Armitage’s first collection since being named the Oxford Professor of Poetry. Get the tissues ready; Armitage has identified a common theme of ‘isolation verging on loneliness’.
Into the Water, Paula Hawkins
May, Transworld Publishers
Will her next novel live up to the runaway success of The Girl on the Train? Her follow up focuses on ‘the slipperiness of the truth and a family drowning in secrets’.
The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain
January, Harper Collins
This debut novel by 2015 GBBO winner Nadiya Hussain is about four girls growing up as the only muslims in an English village.
First Love by Gwendoline Riley
February, Granta
This intimate account of love and revulsion within a family is an emotive read.
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
January, Fig Tree / Penguin
Fuller’s gripping second novel follows Our Endless Numbered Days, which won the Desmond Elliott Prize for debut works of fiction.
Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities by Bettany Hughes
January, Weidenfeld
Historian Bettany Hughes traces the fascinating history of Istanbul, which has over the last 6000 years been the cornerstone of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
March, Hamish Hamilton
From the author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist comes this timely love story about a young couple who become refugees.
And worth noting from across the pond…
4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster
February, Faber
American writer Paul Auster turns 70 this year, and celebrates with his first novel release in seven years. This 900-page-long tome is, quite literally, going to be massive.
