With hardback books now coming with a hefty £20 price tag, being a bibliophile has become a costly affliction. So it is always a great relief when they are re-released in their cheaper, and much more transportable, paperback formats – and this month is full of the books we’ve all been patiently waiting for.
From mega bestsellers such as Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo and Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders to Salman Rushdie’s memoir an Miranda July’s hilarious Women’s Prize short-listed novel, here are the best paperback releases out this May…
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
The hit fourth novel from the much-raved about Irish author is an intimate tale of two brothers and their many complicated relationships. Exploring family, grief, health and love, Intermezzo is luminous, philosophical and completely absorbing.
Faber, £9.99
Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway
Perhaps only the son of the late, great John Le Carre could do such a resplendent job at bringing to life once more the world of George Smiley. Set in 1963, it sheds light on the missing decade between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Penguin, £9.99
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
While working on a tropical island, Amy discovers a dead body and a bag of money – and soon enough is out sleuthing along with her father-in-law, Steve. Osman’s latest mystery is as warm, page-turning and as full of surprises as the Thursday Murder Club series.
Penguin, £9.99
All Fours by Miranda July
Short-listed for this year’s Women’s Prize, this novel-turned-literary-phenomenon follows a 45-year-old unnamed narrator as she embarks on a road trip from California to New York – only to find herself bedding down in an unremarkable motel 30 minutes away from the home she shares with her husband and child.
Canongate, £9.99
The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer
Much like his comedy, Mortimer’s fiction is absurd, funny and brilliant all at once. This sequel to his bestselling debut The Satsuma Complex sequel sees its extremely ordinary hero Gary, a legal assistant, making a rather big life decision – while trying not to end up dead.
Gallery UK, £9.99
Gliff by Ali Smith
From How to Be Both to her seasonal quartet, Smith’s novels are always both intellectual and richly rewarding. Her latest is set in a near future surveillance state, where two children come home one day to see their home circled in a line of wet red paint – then are later separated from their mother.
Penguin, £9.99
Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin
In the bestsller’s latest thriller centred on John Rebus, the former Scottish detective has been jailed for the attempted murder of his nemesis. Which means that when a murder takes place in a locked cell one midnight, he might be the only man to solve the mystery.
Orion, £9.99
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
Every bit as sharp, witty and perceptive as the author’s much-lauded debut Such a Fun Age, this novel follows University of Arkansas student Millie Cousins – whose path in life is irrevocably altered when visiting professor Agatha Paul makes her an offer.
Bloomsbury, £9.99
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
In the second novel from the author of the megahit Fleishman is in Trouble, the kidnap of businessman Carl is a catalyst for four decades’ worth of family drama. Brodesser-Akner has a terrific talent for interrogating big themes – money, dysfunctional relationships, inherited trauma – with the lightest, wittiest of touches.
Wildfire, £9.99
Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
In Ardleigh, Essex, a few years before the turn of the millennium, Thomas and Grace investigate the story of a forgotten astronomer who disappeared a century before. This textured, intelligent novel has a story to really sink into – it is a book of rare beauty.
Vintage, £9.99
The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier
In 15th century Venice, a talented glass blower struggles to be accepted in a patriarchal world. Chevaliar will always be known as the author of The Girl With the Pearl Earring but this exquisite, page-turning read reminds us that she is still in a historical fiction class of her own.
The Borough Press, £9.99
Knife by Salman Rushdie
On 12 August, 2022, the Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie was on stage in New York about to give a lecture when he was stabbed multiple times, leaving him blind in one eye. In Knife, Rushdie reflects on that day and its aftermath with his typically brave brilliance.
Vintage, £10.99
You Don’t Have to be Mad to Work Here by Dr Benji Waterhouse
For fans of Adam Kay’s This Is Going To Hurt, this hilarious, heartfelt book charts the working life of an NHS psychiatrist. In pulling back the curtain of the psychiatric ward, it gives insight not only into the chaotic world of its medical staff, but the human condition itself.
Vintage, £10.99
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
Worlds away from her busy, stressful city life in London, Dalton was spending lockdown in the north-eastern countryside where she grew up when she came across an abandoned, newly born hare. Her memoir of caring for it is a wonderful piece of nature writing.
Canongate, £9.99
