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.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here