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Time is a Mother

by Ocean Vuong

This is the authors second poetry collection, this time, written in the aftermath of his mother’s death, where he is forced to think about the meaning of family and his personal loss. The touching poem ‘Dear Rose’ speaks about his dead mother and her journey as an immigrant from Vietnam to the United States. Flitting back and forth in time, recounting memories, he gives the reader an overview of what her life was like and how certain events ensured others and the dramatic outcomes. Eternal themes such as love and loss are evaluated albeit with a positive stance, leaving the reader hopeful.

Auē

by Becky Manawatu

Auē tells the narrative of Māori siblings who have lost their parents via a number of voices: each sibling recounts their tale, interestingly so does their later their mother, Aroha, from beyond the grave. Auē has already won two awards in New Zealand but is now gaining wider publicity and admiration. It allows the reader to float between different psyche’s, touching on a number of topics that everyone can relate to, with an outer worldly spin.

Glory

by NoViolet Bulawayo

In 2013 author NoViolet Bulawayo became the first black African woman and first Zimbabwean to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize, for her debut novel ‘We Need New Names’. Nine years later her book Glory is set in a fable like animal kingdom called Jidada, which reflects on the 2017 coup that toppled Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. A plot that deals with big, serious issues in a satiric, fairy-tale fashion, clearly inspired by the classic Animal Farm by George Orwell, she carves her own version.

French Braid

by Anne Tyler

This is the twenty fourth novel by Anne Tyler and is “an extraordinarily rich portrait of a family in flux,” according to the Evening Standrad. The story follows the Garrett family throughout six decades and in-keeping with most of Tyler’s works it stiches together a plot that spans the generations, based in Baltimore. Kicking off with a family holiday, where the usual disagreements take place, it reveals the intricate lives of each family member as the years progress. The story reminds us that there are many sides to every story, you just have to look for them.