Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin — powerful and humaneA traumatic period in Argentina’s recent past is revisited by two writers who mix realism with horror movie tropesPussy by Howard Jacobson — enfant terribleA fairy tale about a Trump-like prince contains some lacerating passages but makes for a lousy bedtime storySpaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař — personal spaceA Czech astronaut in search of a dust cloud stars in an ironic debut about national identityBright Air Black by David Vann — mother’s ruinMedea is recast as both victim and survivor in an evocative retelling set in the brutal world of Bronze Age PersiaThe Blood Miracles by Lisa McInerney — agony and ecstasyThe author of a Baileys Prize-winning debut returns to her drug-addled protagonist in a tale of jeopardy and griefAll Grown Up by Jami Attenberg — loveless, actuallyA New York singleton finds her way in a culture that fetishises coupledom and parenthood
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin — powerful and humaneA traumatic period in Argentina’s recent past is revisited by two writers who mix realism with horror movie tropesPussy by Howard Jacobson — enfant terribleA fairy tale about a Trump-like prince contains some lacerating passages but makes for a lousy bedtime storySpaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař — personal spaceA Czech astronaut in search of a dust cloud stars in an ironic debut about national identityBright Air Black by David Vann — mother’s ruinMedea is recast as both victim and survivor in an evocative retelling set in the brutal world of Bronze Age PersiaThe Blood Miracles by Lisa McInerney — agony and ecstasyThe author of a Baileys Prize-winning debut returns to her drug-addled protagonist in a tale of jeopardy and griefAll Grown Up by Jami Attenberg — loveless, actuallyA New York singleton finds her way in a culture that fetishises coupledom and parenthood