The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Portobello, £7.99)

Immediately absorbing, Kang’s novel in three acts almost feels like three separate short stories. That’s not to suggest that this tale of an initially dutiful wife and her disinterested husband feels unconnected, rather that the different perspectives offered are so beautifully distinctive. It’s the kind of story where every word matters.

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym (Picador Classic, £8.99)

The real power of Pym’s writing lies in beautifully observed, psychologically real details, and that power is shown to its full extent in this deceptively straightforward novel about the lives of four middle-aged office workers. As she mercilessly marks the passing of an era in their attitudes and confusions, we feel we know them as close friends.

History of a Suicide by Jill Bialosky (Granta, £9.99)

Bialosky’s sister Kim killed herself when she was young, and this remarkable memoir about what suicides leave behind in those who loved them is as honest as one would hope, and also often surprising (“The fallacy about death is its finality. Kim is as alive for me as if I were still at the foot of her bed…”).

What Would Keir Hardie Say? Edited by Pauline Bryan (Luath Press, £9.99)

Contributions from the likes of Jeremy Corbyn, Melissa Benn and Bob Holman among others may attract a wider audience than simply followers on the Left for this collection of shortish essays on Hardie’s legacy. But Fran Abrams’ writing on suffragettes and Dave Watson on Home Rule make it a timely collection, too.