Our Staff Recommendations - Books We Love!
By Gerrards Cross Bookshop
Our Staff Recommendations - Books We Love!
By Gerrards Cross Bookshop
Absolutely and Forever
Rose Tremain
£9.99 £9.49A beautifully written and moving novel beginning with 15 year old Marianne's all-consuming first love, through marriage, heartbreak, family and friendship, and finally finding her own way. Recommended by Gillian
Brotherless Night: 'Blazingly brilliant' CELESTE NG
V. V. Ganeshananthan
£9.99 £9.49Set in the Sri Lankan civil war, this is a compelling, beautifully written novel in the voice of a young woman who is challenged politically and morally at every turn. Unforgettable. Recommended by Jill
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World
Naomi Klein
£10.99 £10.44This illuminating book shines a light on the shadow world of social media – where facts are malleable, disinformation is prevalent and conspiracy theories abound – Klein captures the absurdities and dangers of the modern age on a personal, social and political level. fascinating, compelling and terrifying in r=equal measure. Recommended by Jacqui
Barcelona
Mary Costello
£14.99 £14.24This excellent collection contains stories of husbands and wives, fathers and sons, and former lovers – quietly devastating snapshots of life, beautifully conveyed with insight and precision. Recommended by Jacqui
In Ascension: Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2024
Martin MacInnes
£9.99 £9.49A remarkable novel, both intimate & expansive. Marine microbiologist Leigh is recruited for an ambitious space project, where secrecy & commitment are crucial. Meanwhile, family obligations call… Recommended by Jill
The Time of Cherries
MONTSERRAT ROIG
£10.99 £10.44A vivid, richly-textured exploration of Catalonia through three generations of a family, intertwining the personal & the political to exhilarating effect! Recommended by Jacqui
Soldier Sailor: 'Intense, furious, moving and often extremely funny.' DAVID NICHOLLS
Claire Kilroy
£9.99 £9.49This deep dive into the realities of motherhood is an outstanding novel - intense, visceral and painfully funny! Recommended by Jacqui
Good Material
Dolly Alderton
£18.99 £18.04Heartbroken Andy struggles to accept the end of the relationship and obsesses over the causes in this funny, poignant and authentic novel about a break-up and its aftermath. Recommended by Gillian
Notes from the Henhouse: From the author of O CALEDONIA, a delightful springtime read full of pigs, ponds and fresh air
Elspeth Barker
£18.99 £18.04Jacqui loved this delightful collection of autobiographical essays from the author of O CALEDONIA - witty, erudite and wonderfully idiosyncratic! Recommended by Jacqui
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life
Anna Funder
£10.99 £10.44A fascinating insight into the life of Eileen O’Shaughnessy (George Orwell's first wife), whose literary talent helped shape Orwell's work. So absorbing. Recommended by Jacqui
Forbidden Notebook
Alba de Cespedes
£9.99 £9.49This rediscovered gem from the 1950s is candid, subversive and utterly immersive. A married women captures her innermost thoughts in a secret hidden notebook, a process that exposes the tensions between her personal desires and marital responsibilities. The writing is superb! Recommended by Jacqui
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad: A Family Memoir of Miraculous Survival
Daniel Finkelstein
£10.99 £10.44A gripping and moving account of the devastating experiences of the author's grandparents and parents under Hitler and Stalin during WW2. Brilliantly written. Recommended by Gillian
A Different Sound: Stories by Mid-Century Women Writers
Various Authors
£12.99 £12.34An excellent collection of stories by mid-century women writers, including Elizabeth Bowen, Elizabeth Taylor, Daphne du Maurier and Penelope Mortimer. Such a variety of styles here! Recommended by Jacqui
Romantic Comedy
Curtis Sittenfeld
£9.99 £9.49Gillian loved this fabulous novel by the ever-reliable Curtis Sittenfeld. A warm, funny, hugely enjoyable read. It's all in the title with this one! Recommended by Gillian
Uncle Paul: The 'Irresistible' (Val McDermid) Classic Summer Thriller
Celia Fremlin
£9.99 £9.49Jacqui loved this wonderfully sinister tale of three sisters, an eerie, isolated cottage and the possibility of a murderer on the loose. Perfect holiday reading right here! Recommended by Jacqui
Things We Lost in the Fire
Mariana Enriquez
£9.99 £9.49A knockout collection of stories that blend elements of Gothic horror and surreal, otherworldly imagery with insightful social critique. Not for the faint-hearted! Recommended by Jacqui
Sea Bean
Sally Huband
£10.99 £10.44Jill loved this affecting memoir in which a young woman whose heath is compromised finds sustenance in beachcombing along Shetland's wild shores. A glorious exploration of the importance of belonging to the land. Recommended by Jill
Small Worlds
Caleb Azumah Nelson
£9.99 £9.49Caleb Azumah Nelson has followed up his bestselling debut, Open Water, with another gorgeous, heartfelt read. Set in Peckham, South London, Small Worlds is a beautifully written story of love, family, music and dance - like a balm for the soul. Recommended by Jacqui
A Green Equinox: The witty, dazzling rediscovered classic for spring 2024
Elizabeth Mavor
£9.99 £9.49A rich exploration of female sexuality & love in all its various manifestations, recently reissued by the wonderful Virago Books. Recommended by Jacqui
My Father's House
Joseph O'Connor
£9.99 £9.49The tension builds in this suspenseful thriller based on real events in Nazi-occupied Rome as an Irish priest endeavours to run an escape line for prisoners during the winter of '43. Superb! Recommended by Gillian
The Feast: The Summer Holiday Seaside Crime Classic
Margaret Kennedy
£9.99 £9.49Set in Cornwall in the summer of 1947, Margaret Kennedy’s The Feast is a thoroughly entertaining novel, cleverly constructed around the seven deadly sins. All the ingredients of a memorable ‘classic’ are here: a cast of eccentric characters; multiple disagreements and deceptions; a strange hotel with an atmospheric setting; and a mysterious tragedy to boot. A truly delightful summer read with some serious messages at its heart. Recommended by Jacqui.
Antarctica: ‘A genuine once-in-a-generation writer.’ THE TIMES
Claire Keegan
£9.99 £9.49An incisive first collection of short stories by Claire Keegan, portraying vulnerability, obsession & betrayal. The title story draws to a hauntingly chilling close. Recommend by Gillian
So Late in the Day: The Sunday Times bestseller
Claire Keegan
£9.99 £9.49After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal takes the bus home. There, his mind agitates over a woman named Sabine with whom he could have spent his life, had he acted differently. Recommended by Martin
A Wreath for the Enemy
Pamela Frankau
£9.99 £9.49A wonderfully immersive coming-of-age story, partly set in the sun-drenched French Riviera. Think 'I Capture the Castle' meets 'Tender is the Night' with a touch of 'Brideshead Revisited' for good measure. Perfect summer reading whatever the weather! Recommended by Jacqui
A Whole Life
ROBERT SEETHALER
£9.99 £9.49A tender book about finding dignity and beauty in solitude - an exquisite story about a simple life. Recommended by Martin
Small Things Like These: An Oprah Book Club Pick
Claire Keegan
£9.99 £9.49During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church. It is both haunting and hopeful. Recommended by Martin, Gillian and Jacqui.
The Dry Heart
Natalia Ginzburg
£8.99 £8.54Slim, precise and utterly haunting, this striking novella literally starts with a bang as a young woman shoots her husband between the eyes on page one. To find out why, you'll have to read the book! Recommended by Jacqui
The Whalebone Theatre
Joanna Quinn
£9.99 £9.49So much more than a coming-of-age novel. An epic sweep, reminiscent of William Boyd's "Any Human Heart" or Ian McEwan's "Atonement", Quinn has managed to write a real page-turner which, while vintage in style, is bang up to date with issues that resonate today. Very diverting, a perfect beach read. Recommended by Sheryl and Francesca.
Friends Like These: 'This summer's must-read' - The Times
Meg Rosoff
£8.99 £8.54Set during a sweltering New York summer in 1982, Friends Like These captures with searing intensity the angst and exhilaration as 18 year old Beth moves away from home into a grotty flatshare, starts working as a newspaper intern and experiences heady friendship and first love. A scorching summer read. Recommended by Gillian
The Colony: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022
Audrey Magee
£9.99 £9.49Set on a sparsely populated island off the coast of Ireland at the time of The Troubles, this superb novel about the damaging effects of colonisation is timely, thoughtful and utterly compelling. Thoroughly deriving of its place on the Booker Prize longlist, The Colony is one of my top novels of the year. Recommended by Jacqui.
Act of Oblivion
Robert Harris
£9.99 £9.49Richard Nayler has vowed to round up all those who had a direct hand in King Charles I’s execution. Based on actual events and full of interesting detail, Martin felt he got a history lesson as he was reading this thoroughly enjoyable book! Recommended by Martin
Free Love: The exhilarating new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Late in the Day
Tessa Hadley
£9.99 £9.49A sophisticated story of love, liberation, sexual awakening and the complexities of human relationships, set in the bohemian world of late '60s London. Another winner from the marvellous Tessa Hadley. Recommended by Jacqui
Single, Carefree, Mellow
Katherine Heiny
£8.99 £8.54A wonderful short story collection, clever, funny and resonant. Heiny highlights the good and bad times, and juxtaposes the drama with the everyday. Lots of laughs in this one! Recommended by Gillian
The Venice Train
Georges Simenon
£8.99 £8.54There's a touch of Patricia Highsmith about this highly compelling novella in which an ordinary man gets sucked into a nightmare scenario. A truly propulsive read with an unexpected ending to boot! Recommended by Jacqui
Lucy by the Sea
Elizabeth Strout
£9.99 £9.49A tender and thoughtful novel, exquisitely conveyed. As the pandemic hits in March 2020, Lucy Barton’s ex-husband William persuades her to leave New York with him to stay in a remote house on the coast of Maine. As the weeks turn into months, Lucy reflects both on her past and present shared life with William, and on the troubled times they’re living through. The author quietly conveys the loneliness and sense of dislocation of this strange time as well as the importance of human connections. Recommended by Gillian.
The Glass Pearls (Faber Editions): 'A wonderful noir thriller and tremendous rediscovery' - William Boyd
Emeric Pressburger
£9.99 £9.49An utterly gripping novel with a morally ambiguous character at its heart. So immersive. Recommended by Jacqui
Trespasses: The most beautiful, devastating love story you’ll read this year
Louise Kennedy
£9.99 £9.49Jacqui loved this beautiful, quietly devastating novel, set in Northern Ireland in the midst of The Troubles. At once both an achingly tender story of an illicit love affair and a vivid exploration of the complex network of tensions that can emerge in divided communities. Plenty for book groups to discuss here! Recommended by Jacqui
We All Want Impossible Things
Catherine Newman
£9.99 £9.49Full of humour, warmth and tenderness. Edi and Ash have been friends for 40 years, and when Edi is transferred to a hospice Ash is by her side . A book about female friendship which is simultaneously funny, heart-breaking and joyful. Recommended by Gillian.
Shrines of Gaiety
Kate Atkinson
£9.99 £9.49So many layers of intrigue and mystery here! Set around Nellie Coker’s nightclub empire in 1920s London, this is a very enjoyable read, full of vivid characters and atmospheric period detail. Recommended by Gillian
Bonjour Tristesse
Francoise Sagan
£8.99 £8.54An irresistible story of love, frivolity and the games a young girl plays with other people's emotions. A quintessential summer read, complete with the heady atmosphere of the French Riviera. Recommended by Jacqui
Kick the Latch
Kathryn Scanlan
£9.99 £9.49Scanlan presents the story of Sonia, an American horse trainer, in a compelling series of vignettes. An extraordinary portrayal a woman's life, compressed into a slim novella. Utterly fascinating! Recommended by Jacqui.
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus
£9.99 £9.49This is a funny and thought-provoking debut novel, beginning in the early 1960s, that takes us into the life of Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist and an individual and independent thinker, whose career moves from underpaid work in a science lab to starring in America’s most popular TV cookery show. Recommended by Gillian.
The Home
Penelope Mortimer
£9.99 £9.49A candid, beautifully written semi-autobiographical novel in which an attractive, vulnerable woman attempts to establish a new life for herself following the breakdown of her marriage. Originally published in the 1970s, the emotions still resonate today. Fans of Muriel Spark would likely enjoy this. Recommended by Jacqui
A Helping Hand
Celia Dale
£9.99 £9.49I loved this icily compelling domestic noir in the vein of Patricia Highsmith and Shirley Jackson. A chilling tale of greed and deception, stealthily executed amidst carefully-orchestrated conversations and endless cups of tea. I devoured this book during a couple of sittings in my eagerness to reach the end! Recommended by Jacqui.
Bewilderment: From the million-copy global bestselling author of The Overstory
Richard Powers
£9.99Set against the background of an environmental crisis, this is a tender, moving account of a single father raising a neurodivergent child. A thoroughly immersive read. Recommended by Jill
A Silence Shared
Lalla Romano
£10.99 £10.44Jacqui loved this evocative story in which a young woman is drawn into the orbit of an enigmatic couple. Set in the Italian countryside in the midst of WW2, this gorgeous, dreamlike novella is an ode to stillness and silence amid the turmoil of war. Recommended by Jacqui
Termush (Faber Editions): 'A classic—stunning, dangerous, darkly beautiful' (Jeff VanderMeer)
Sven Holm
£9.99 £9.49Originally published in the late 1960s, this unnerving slice of post-apocalyptic dystopia still feels wildly relevant today. Holm excels in creating a sense of creeping dread, combining a tantalising blend of the frighteningly real and the enigmatically surreal. Recommended by Jacqui
French Braid: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Redhead by the Side of the Road
Anne Tyler
£9.99 £9.49A beautifully written story of the Garrett family from the 1950s to the present, quietly detailing the ebb and flow of events as Mercy's children grow and leave home. Recommended by Gillian
All Our Yesterdays
Natalia Ginzburg
£10.99 £10.44Jacqui got totally caught up in this rich, multilayered family saga set in Italy during the Second World War. Featuring an introduction by Ginzburg fan Sally Rooney, it’s a truly immersive story of ordinary people living through extraordinary times, beautifully told with a warmth and generosity of spirit that reflects the Italian character. If you like Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, this could be the book for you! Recommended by Jacqui.
Foster: by the Booker-shortlisted author of Small Things Like These
Claire Keegan
£9.99 £9.49A moving, beautifully written story of a young Irish girl sent to stay with relatives over the summer with no mention of any return. So much is left unsaid here, shimmering ominously in the background as the narrative unfolds. Just gorgeous! Recommended by Jacqui and Gillian
The Young Accomplice
Benjamin Wood
£9.99 £9.49A thoroughly absorbing story of two wayward youngsters trying to break free from their troubled past lives. Set in 1950s England, the period detail is excellent here. Recommended by Jacqui
Great Circle: The soaring and emotional novel shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 and shortlisted for the Booker
Maggie Shipstead
£9.99 £9.49Ambitious and exhilarating, this epic novel focuses on early 20th century pioneering aviator Marian Graves and, sixty years after her 1950 disappearance in the Antarctic, disgraced Hollywood actress Hadley Baxter, cast to play her in a biopic. Tough lives, relentlessly lived, spring this story off the page. A pleasure from start to finish. Recommended by Jill.
The Lincoln Highway: A New York Times Number One Bestseller
Amor Towles
£9.99 £9.49Full of energy, The Lincoln Highway demands your attention from the first page and repays it in spades. Three teenage boys, straight from reform school, with a younger brother in tow, head off across 1950s America on a road trip like no other, in search of the past and the future, money and love, justice and hope. A true epic, and a wonderful story in which to become immersed. Recommended by Jill.
Mayflies: From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Caledonian Road
Andrew O'Hagan
£9.99 £9.49In the summer of 1986, teenagers Jimmy and Tully forge a friendship that seems set to endure for life; but when Tully calls Jimmy 30 years later with some news, the strength of their bond is tested. At once both a celebration of the exuberance of youth and a love letter to male friendship. A truly exhilarating read. Recommended by Jacqui and Jill
The Sea Change
Elizabeth Jane Howard
£9.99An excellent, richly textured novel in which a successful playwright falls for a young ingenue with surprising results. The characterisation feels particularly strong here as Howard rotates her focus around the four central figures, moving the action from London to New York to the Greek island of Hydra. The film rights have been optioned by Kristen Scott Thomas. Recommended by Jacqui
Still Life
Sarah Winman
£9.99 £9.49Opening at the tail-end of World War II, and set in Florence and London’s East End over the next forty years, Still Life yokes together a group of unlikely kindred spirits and follows the adventures of their hearts. It asks the questions ‘what is family?’ and ‘does art matter?’ and answers them beautifully. Thoroughly entertaining and uplifting, it’s a real page-turner. Recommended by Sheryl and Jill.
The Springs of Affection
Maeve Brennan
£10.99 £10.44An exquisite collection of short stories, all set in the same Dublin house. Brennan's focus is family life with all its hopes, frustrations and disappointments. A gem of a collection - precise, moving and beautifully written. Recommended by Jacqui.
Excellent Women: 'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' Richard Osman
Barbara Pym
£9.99 £9.49One of Pym’s richest and most charming social comedies. Mildred Lathbury, one of those highly reliable ‘excellent women’ who find themselves being taken for granted by others, becomes embroiled in the lives of her glamorous new neighbours with amusing results! Recommended by Jacqui
Love Marriage: Don't miss this heart-warming, funny and bestselling book club pick about what love really means
Monica Ali
£9.99 £9.49Compassionate, funny and thoroughly engrossing, Love Marriage tells the story of a young couple – Yasmin and Joe – hoping to tie the knot. As their respective families begin to get to know one another, various cultural and class differences emerge, opening up the fault lines in various relationships. This is a warm-hearted, easy-going read on the lighter side of the literary fiction spectrum. Yasmin, in particular, must decide what she wants from life. Will she marry Joe? You’ll have to read the book to find out! Recommended by Jacqui.
The Enchanted April
Elizabeth Von Arnim
£8.99 £8.54An utterly delightful novel, perfect for spring / summer. Four very different women come together to rent a castle on the Italian Riviera for the month of April, a trip that transforms their lives in the most magical of ways. Recommended by Jacqui
Maud Martha (Faber Editions): 'I loved it and want everyone to read this lost literary treasure.' Bernardine Evaristo
Gwendolyn Brooks
£9.99 £9.49Every now and again, a book comes along that captivates the reader with its elegant form and glittering prose. Maud Martha is one such book, painting an evocative portrait of the titular character’s life from childhood to early adulthood. Over the course of the novella, we follow Maud Martha through childhood in Chicago’s South Side, her early romances as a teenager, to marriage and motherhood, moving seamlessly from the early 1920s to the mid ’40s. I loved this book for its gorgeous, poetic prose and beautiful use of imagery. A wonderful rediscovered gem! Recommended by Jacqui.
Burntcoat
Sarah (Author) Hall
£9.99 £9.49A haunting, beautifully-crafted story of love, trauma and the creation of art, all set against the backdrop of a deadly global pandemic (not COVID, but a fictional virus with multiple ramifications). This multi-layered novel has so much to offer – a moving elegy to love, life, loss and creativity that acts as a testament to humanity’s resilience in the face of deep uncertainty. Recommended by Jacqui.
The Pachinko Parlour
Elisa Shua Dusapin
£9.99 £9.49Wonderfully enigmatic in style and tone, this elegant novella is a story of family, displacement, fractured identity and the search for belonging. At first sight, the story seems relatively straightforward – a young woman travels to Japan to take her Korean grandparents on a trip to their homeland, a place they haven’t seen in fifty years. However, it’s full of hidden depths. An atmospheric gem. Recommended by Jacqui.
Falling
Elizabeth Jane Howard
£9.99 £9.49Based on Howard’s own experiences of falling for the charms of a con man during the autumn of her years, this thoroughly compelling novel feels horribly real. A cautionary tale of just how easy it is to be seduced when we are vulnerable and alone. A brilliant novel by one of my favourite writers – as ever with Howard, the prose is beautifully judged. Recommended by Jacqui.
Open Water: Winner of the Costa First Novel Award 2021
Caleb Azumah Nelson
£9.99 £9.49This beautiful lyrical novella (winner of the Costa First Novel Award), is at once both a tender love story and a searing insight into what it feels to be young, black and male in South London. A vital story for our times from an exciting new voice. Recommended by Jacqui.
Assembly: The critically acclaimed debut novel
Natasha Brown
£9.99 £9.49Narrated by an unnamed black British woman working in a London-based financial firm, Brown’s superb debut novella has much to say about so many vital sociopolitical issues – toxic masculinity, the shallowness of workplace diversity programmes, the pressure for people of colour to assimilate into a predominantly white society, and the social constructs that perpetuate Britain’s colonial history. Urgent and illuminating – a remarkable insight into how it must feel to be a young black woman in the superficially liberal sectors of society today. Recommended by Jacqui.
Cold Enough for Snow
Jessica Au
£12.99 £12.34At first sight, the story being conveyed in Cold Enough for Snow seems relatively straightforward – a mother and her adult daughter reconnect to spend some time together in Japan. Nevertheless, the narrative is wonderfully slippery – cool and clear on the surface yet harbouring fascinating hidden depths. Just gorgeous! Recommended by Jacqui.
Winter in the Air: 'Masterpieces: hand yourself over to be enchanted.' (Guardian)
Sylvia Townsend Warner
£9.99 £9.49A shimmering collection of short stories by one of Britain's finest writers. There's something wonderfully subversive here - flashes of malevolence and malice lurking in these tales of seemingly gentile ladies and the respectable middle classes. Recommended by Jacqui.