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The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

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The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

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The Paper Palace centres around a family's holiday home - the so called 'Paper Palace' - in New England.  Protagonist Elle gets caught in a complicated love triangle with her first love Jonas and British journalist husband Peter.  Flitting between the present day (literally, one day) and the past, a complicated story about family, love and loss, and how it impacts our destiny, unfolds.

As a wild swimmer, I loved the descriptions of swimming in ponds and the sea, and how the weather and the landscape is the ever-present character shaping the narrative.

I also loved the drama of the love triangle.  It boils down to good, old-fashioned soap opera tension.  A great read for winter to get you in the mood for summer.

TW: Contains descriptions of rape, sexual assault and stillbirth.  Not suitable for those with insect phobias.

Louise Raynham
Estates

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I've just finished Still Life by Sarah Winman and can only compare it to a hug in book form, which was much needed during these cold dark January weeks.

The story is set in London and Florence, Italy, and follows the lives of a group of wonderful characters, who by the end you really feel you know and care for.

The author really captures the complexity of relationships and often with humour and a rawness that really touched me.  For anyone who loves art, Italy, or is just looking for a bit of escapism, I'd wholeheartedly recommend. I was sad when I came to the end of this book!

(There's also a surprise mention of The Slade and Bloomsbury half way through, as one of the characters teaches there).

Lisa Walters
UCL SSEES

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LOTE was published by Jacaranda Books during their #Twentyin2020 campaign, which aimed to publish 20 titles by 20 Black British writers in one year. It won
one of my favourite prizes, the Republic of Consciousness Prize, and I have been on the look-out for more writing by von Reinhold ever since!
First thing to mention: this novel has pictures in it! Always a plus, in my opinion.
Second thing: I read it when it first came out and it is STILL my top book that I tell everyone about. But despite lots of practice in singing its praises, it’s not easy to distill this book into a short review. It covers a lot of ground (and absolutely should read with Google Images open at your side): there’s Black Modernisms, baroque art, history, poetry, science, Transfixions, institutional bureaucracy, even redacted extracts from archival sources. It is vivid, incandescent, quotable - and just generally good for the soul.
AND, icing on the cake: Zawe Ashton narrates the Audible version!

Catherine Jenkins
Assistant, SELCS

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I recently read Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and it was such a great read. It made me laugh out loud throughout and whilst I didn’t want the story to finish, I ended up devouring it.

Elizabeth Zott is an American chemist in the 60s. The problem is that her male colleagues can’t get over the fact that she's a woman, and treat her more as a secretary, only acknowledging her so that they can steal her work. Through an unexpected twist, Elizabeth finds herself as the host of a cooking show but still yearns to be appreciated as a chemist. The result is a hilarious, inspiring, informative novel.

Elizabeth is a fantastic character, fearless in the face of adversity, independent and individual, refusing to comply with the status quo.

The writing is witty and original. It is intelligent, heart-warming, quirky and life affirming. I would encourage anyone to read my favourite book of 2022.

Emma Kelley
Clinical Lecturer at UCLMS