Time To Read

Wider World

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

High in the Himalayas sits a dilapidated mansion, home to three people, each dreaming of another time: a judge, broken by a world too messy for justice; his orphan granddaughter who has fallen in love with her handsome tutor; and his son, who is working in a New York restaurant, mingling with an underclass from all over the globe as he seeks somewhere to call home. A spellbinding, wise, and humane novel with humour to spare.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Trousselot) In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. In this collection of stories, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the cafe’s time-travelling offer. Mr Gormley says: “Kawaguchi’s stories will break your heart and put it back together again. This is a book to get lost in!”

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Estha and Rahel are twins, growing up amid scenes of political turbulence in 1960s Kerala. Their mother, Ammu, falls in love with Velutha, a member of India’s dalit (“untouchable”) caste. The consequences of this forbidden love will be tragic for all involved. Shifting between 1969 and 1993, this lush, poetic novel is a profound examination of childhood, trauma, colonialism, and love that defies social customs – and is rightly considered a modern classic.