Bookcase

By Kate Whiting

New fiction The City Of Devi by Manil Suri is published in hardback by Bloomsbury, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.54). Available now.

Manil Suri, the Booker-longlisted author of The Death Of Vishnu and The Age Of Shiva, completes his 'alternative trimurti' with The City Of Devi, which will surely cement his reputation as one of the most imaginative writers of our time.

The City Of Devi drops us into Mumbai in the near-future, where India is on the brink of nuclear war with China-funded Pakistan.

Thirty-something newlywed Sarita is searching for her husband Karun in the rubble of a city which is viciously divided between Hindu and Muslim factions.

However, Sarita isn't the only one looking for Karun - self-styled 'shikari' Jaz is desperate to reconnect with his former lover, and will stop at nothing to find him.

Thus begins one of the most ambitious love stories to be committed to paper, exploring the still-taboo world of gay India, multi-cultural relationships and the meaning of true love.

But this is not just a love story - while the plot gradually reveals itself, Suri throws in swimming elephants, runaway pomegranates, mid-air laser fights and a Marmite-loving goddess to create a mesmerising novel that is impossible to put down.

10/10 (Review by Kathryn Gaw) Amity & Sorrow by Peggy Riley is published in hardback by Tinder Press, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.49). Available now.

Playwright Peggy Riley's debut novel tells the story of what happens when mum-of-two Amaranth flees her polygamous relationship to save her daughters, Amity and Sorrow, from the warped religious views of the community they share with many wives and children.

Addressing the subjects of polygamy, the importance of religion in America and how rules are made to control the vulnerable and ignorant, Amity & Sorrow mixes the past and present to explain how the 'family' came about and grew; what Amaranth's possessive husband had planned for the family's future; and how living in a closed community can affect the members' views of what is right and wrong once they step into the mysterious outside world.

At times drawn out, it's an intriguing read with an unexpected ending. Highly recommended.

9/10 (Review by Victoria Burt) Red Joan by Jennie Rooney is published in hardback by Chatto & Windus, priced £12.99 (ebook £8.26). Available now.

While still working as a commercial solicitor, Jennie Rooney has produced two acclaimed novels, variously about love, loss and turbulent lives.

Now, with her latest work of fiction, Rooney brings us a murky tale of a seemingly quiet and unremarkable life.

Joan Stanley is a suburban grandmother with a secret that at long last has come back to haunt her.

From the present day, where the pensioner receives a visit from a government agency that she has long dreaded, to the late 1930s and studies at Newnham College, Cambridge, the story resounds with themes of idealism, romance and ambiguous betrayal.

A young and unassuming Joan meets the dazzling, cosmopolitan cousins Sonya and Leo at university and her life is forever altered.

A wonderfully plotted spy drama full of intrigue and suspense, partly based on the true-life story of Melita Norwood, who was exposed as a KGB spy in 1999, Red Joan is a fantastic read.

8/10 (Review by James Fry) Never Google Heartbreak by Emma Garcia is published in paperback by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £7.99 (ebook £4.99). Available now.

The strapline of Emma Garcia's debut novel claims the target audience to be 'fans of Bridesmaids, Caitlin Moran and pinot grigio'. Being an avid supporter of these three subjects, I can concur that it's a spot-on claim to make.

This witty and relatable read is a fresh take on getting over a broken heart. Viv, the protagonist, has been dumped by her fiance, Rob. For the third time.

The story follows her struggle to come to terms with being single and dumped in her thirties - obviously, in this day and age, by turning to Google for moral support and setting up a discussion website.

Not only does she turn to the web, but to her oldest friend, Max. After a whirlwind of confusing and surprising events, Viv finds herself faced with a decision to make after Max gets the wrong impression and disappears.

But who will it be, Rob or Max? And where is Max? The perfect rom-com lit, I'm excited for Garcia's next book.

8/10 (Review by Emily Pawson) Sila's Fortune by Fabrice Humbert is published in paperback by Serpent's Tail, priced £8.99 (ebook £5.98). Available now.

French novelist Fabrice Humbert, who previously penned the award-winning The Origin Of Violence, now brings us a tale of corruption in France.

We begin with an altercation in a high-end Parisian restaurant - a waiter tries to control an unruly American boy, and is viciously punched by the boy's father. Nobody steps in to help the victim, and everyone who witnesses the scene is shell-shocked.

We then explore each of the witnesses' lives, and uncover Russian political corruption and financial exploitation in France.

The stories are woven intermittently through the book, and we discover more about the boy's father - a very angry American man.

The winner of the Prix Jean-Jacques Rosseau award, it's a difficult novel to get into - it has been translated from its original French to English, which may explain why it's clunky and unemotional in parts.

Like the boy's father, it's unfulfilled.

5/10 (Review by Emma Wilson) Children's book of the week: Requiem by Lauren Oliver is published in hardback by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.99). Available now.

This is the third and final instalment in the Delirium trilogy, which follows the life of teenager Lena in a dystopian world where love is banned.

Requiem begins where Pandemonium left off - Lena is now an active member of the resistance in The Wilds, and Alex - her former boyfriend who she thought had perished during their escape from Portland - is back in her life.

Lena is torn between her love for Julian - the man she rescued from death - and Alex, who has always been her soulmate.

The resistance brings danger, and as bombs are planted around Portland to help the uprising, Lena tries to save an old friend while making the biggest decision of her life - to be with Alex, Julian, or fight for her freedom?

New York Times best-seller Lauren Oliver has written her characters beautifully, and Lena is transformed from the annoying girl she was in the first novel to the rebel fighter in this.

The ending is a bit predictable, but the message is strong - choose what you want from life rather than being told.

It's a great trilogy for young adults, and the upcoming Hollywood film - starring Emma Roberts - should be a hit with teenagers.

9/10 (Review by Emma Wilson) Non-fiction The Yes Book: The Art Of Better Negotiation by Clive Rich is published in paperback by Virgin Books, priced £12.99 (£8.51). Available now.

Yes. It's a small word with just three letters, but don't underestimate its power. That's the message conveyed in Clive Rich's guide to negotiating.

You might believe, as I naively did, that negotiations purely belong in business meetings. But this isn't the case as Rich illustrates in this engaging title, complete with anecdotes relatable to everyday life.

From the first page, it's obvious that Rich is a leading expert in this field. He explores its background, describing how people's attitudes towards negotiating are shifting from 'winner takes all' to 'everyone's a winner'.

He also delves into the psychology behind it while explaining that we all have our own different negotiating styles, and then he expertly outlines the process of the deed itself in digestible chapters.

Informative and fascinating, the book offers practical advice on how to boost your bargaining power so you hear that little magic word. It's an eye-opening read.

7/10 (Review by Mary Ann Pickford) The Politics Of Humanity: The Reality Of Relief Aid by John Holmes is published in hardback by Head of Zeus, priced £20 (ebook £9.99). Available now.

The reality of relief - the subtitle of this scholarly yet accessible volume - is that aid reaches the people who need it most only because of the tireless work of the UN and other humanitarian organisations.

Holmes's argument, unsurprisingly for someone who spent three years as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, is that the aid system works in many cases despite, not in collaboration with, the efforts of local parties, many of whom are said to work against these agencies for their own political ends.

Whether or not you believe his argument to be biased, this book provides a fascinating insight into a system that few have access to - particularly not at Holmes's level.

Many global catastrophes of the last five years - from the Burmese cyclone in 2008, to the Sudanese refugee crisis - are analysed here from the point of view of someone who made life-changing decisions affecting millions.

A fascinating glimpse behind the headlines.

7/10 (Review by Sarah Warwick) West's World: The Extraordinary Life Of Dame Rebecca West by Lorna Gibb is published in hardback by Macmillan, priced £25 (ebook £11.51). Available now.

The turbulent life of the outspoken writer, feminist and literary icon Dame Rebecca West (1892-1983) is described entertainingly in this new biography by university lecturer Lorna Gibb, although she is perhaps a little too sympathetic towards her subject.

Rebecca was born Cicely Isabel Fairfield, but adopted "Rebecca West" as a pseudonym because she considered her real name too lightweight.

A free spirit and original thinker, she was also a prima donna with a fierce temper, whose views on many things were often contradictory and inconsistent. Privately, however, she could be kind and financially generous.

Her literary output was vast and her book reviews, news reporting, essays, novels and travel writing brought fame and status.

When young, she had a secret affair with the famous science fiction writer HG Wells. They had a son, Anthony (1914-1987), with whom she had an appallingly discordant relationship in later life.

Her rambling literary style, and metaphors that often fell flat, did not prevent her from gaining a large fan base whose adulation bordered on idolatry.

8/10 (Review by Anthony Looch) Fifty Shades Of Feminism edited by Lisa Appignanesi, Rachel Holmes and Susie Orbach is published in hardback by Virago, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.99). Available now.

Unwittingly following Toni Morrison's edict that 'if there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it', three writers set out to compile an antidote to EL James's inescapable erotic tome, and at the same time prove that feminism comes in many forms.

In pithy, predominantly auto-biographical chapters, 50 women - many of them well-known writers - riff on the state of feminism, past and present.

At times celebratory (marvelling at the achievements of great women the world over), occasionally depressingly gritty (sexism, violence against women and inequality are still rife the world over too), but never dry, their voices in unison sound a powerful and optimistic rallying cry for women everywhere.

If you've previously only dipped your toe in the so-called new wave of feminism, Fifty Shades Of Feminism will help you to dive right in.

8/10 (Review by Katie Wright) Best-sellers for the week ending March 30 Paperbacks 1 Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn 2 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson 3 Gangsta Granny, David Walliams 4 The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce 5 Tom Gates Is Absolutely Fantastic (At Some Things), Liz Pichon 6 Waiting For Sunrise, William Boyd 7 The Woman Who Went To Bed For A Year, Sue Townsend 8 Beastly Things, Donna Leon 9 The Fault In Our Stars, John Green 10 Peaches For Monsieur Le Cure, Joanne Harris Hardbacks 1 Light, Michael Grant 2 Paul Hollywood's Bread, Paul Hollywood 3 The Maleficent Seven (From The World of Skulduggery Pleasant), Derek Landy 4 Life After Life, Kate Atkinson 5 The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult 6 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel, Jeff Kinney 7 Peppa's Easter Egg Hunt, Peppa Pig 8 Best Kept Secret, Jeffrey Archer 9 That's Not My Lamb, Fiona Watt 10 That's Not My Bunny, Fiona Watt Best-sellers for the week ending March 30 eBooks 1 Dear Lupin... Letters To A Wayward Son, Roger Motimeer & Charlie Mortimer 2 Little Girl Lost, Brian McGilloway 3 Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn 4 The Perfect Retreat, Kate Forster 5 White Bones, Graham Masterton 6 Missing You, Louise Douglas 7 Sealed With A Kiss, Rachael Lucas 8 Elegy For April, Benjamin Black 9 The French House, Nick Alexander 10 Walking Disaster, Jamie McGuire (Compiled by the Kindle store at Amazon.co.uk) :: Please note: Here is the latest book chart from Waterstone's. The book column was transmitted yesterday, Wednesday, April 3