Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud

The book we introduce this month is Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud, published in 2020. Ingrid Persaud was born in Trinidad and moved to London at the age of 18. She studied law and pursued an academic career, and only started writing in her 40’s. This is her second novel.

What’s it about? The blurb on the back cover of the novel reads:

‘Irrepressible Betty Ramdin, her shy son Solo and their marvellous lodger Mr Chetan, form an unconventional household. Happy in their differences, they build a home together. Home: the place keeping these three safe from an increasingly dangerous world – until the night when a glass of rum, a heart-to-heart and a terrible truth explodes the family unit, driving them apart. Brave and brilliant, steeped in affection, Love After Love offers hope to anyone who has loved and lost and has yet to find their way back.’

Music played

The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel

And now to our book recommendations from Reading Circle members:

• The Marches by Rory Stewart: An engaging travel book about exploring the land north and south of the England/Scotland Border on foot and sharing the experiences and discoveries with the author’s father. Well researched and beautifully written.
• The Stunt Man and Secrets: A Writer in the Cold War by Paul Brodeur: The first an intense claustrophobic thriller in which a fugitive stumbles on a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out and falls for the leading lady. In the second he turns the attention to the experiences of his own life, weaving family secrets that were kept from him, secrets that he kept as a counterintelligence agent and secrets that he uncovered as an investigative reporter into the tapestry of the Cold War. A compelling narrative.
• The Bear and the Dragon by Tom Clancy: The 8th Jack Ryan novel from New York Times best-selling author Clancy, the undisputed master of the techno-thriller.
• State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hilary Clinton:  Hilary Clinton brings an insider’s expertise into this utterly compelling international thriller.
• Das Haus by Monika Maron (German): A gripping and wise novel in which life, love and ageing are handled in a new way.
• Assembly by Natasha Brown: A black businesswoman in London hits the glass ceiling. A novel about race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers. Expertly crafted, bold and original.
• The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris: There’s no solidarity between black women in this novel, set against the starkly white book publishing world of New York. 
• The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell: Set in 16th century Florence, this is an unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.
• The Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga: a searing novel about the obstacles facing women in Zimbabwe, by one of the country’s most notable authors.