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Best new books: October 2021

By Madeleine Feeny on 1/10/2021

It’s October, which means autumn leaves, black opaques, Halloween parties … and a reading list worth staying in for. In this month’s non-fiction, two inspirational memoirs take us backstage at RuPaul’s Drag Race and New York City Ballet respectively, while Paul Morley’s biography of Tony Wilson recalls the heyday of the Haçienda. We have literary novels from prize-winning authors Sarah Hall and Elizabeth Strout, and a final thriller from John le Carré, published ten months after his death. Oh, and something that’s bound to crop up on many a Christmas list: a design book by Matt Gibberd, co-founder of The Modern House.

From Manchester with Love, by Paul Morley

Music impresario. Northern broadcaster. Manchester legend. Cultural commentator. Founder of Factory Records and The Haçienda. Manager of Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays. Tony Wilson was all these things and more. He was memorably acted by Steve Coogan in 24 Hour Party People but there hasn’t been an official biography, until now. Paul Morley, bestselling author of books on David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson and the North, knew Wilson – ‘who always lived his life with his biography in mind’ and selected Morley to write this book. In the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Wilson’s visionary knack for bringing people together drove the transformation of his beloved Manchester into a cultural epicentre. Here, Morley examines that life and legacy with such wisdom, humour and vividness that Wilson leaps off the page. Not just the biography of a man, but of a city and cultural moment.

(October, 19 October)

Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina, by Georgina Pazcoguin

For those of us who imagined becoming a ballerina until puberty hit – and with it, reality – this warts-and-all memoir is a window into that fantasy. New York City Ballet’s first Asian American woman soloist Georgina Pazcoguin narrates in sassy, no-bullshit prose her journey from after-school classes in Pennsylvania to training at New York’s School of American Ballet. She lifts the lid on the dark side of this ultra-competitive world, including eating disorders and a culture of abuse in elite dance institutions. NYCB has had its #MeToo reckoning; here Pazcoguin describes the patriarchal environment and structural bias she’s encountered as a biracial dancer. It’s an eye-opening, inspirational tale of ambition, sacrifice, identity and control, recounting how ‘the rogue ballerina’ found the strength to dance on her own terms.

(Picador, 14 October)

Burntcoat, by Sarah Hall

Sarah Hall is the twice-Booker-nominated author of novels including The Electric Michelangelo, and a winner of the BBC National Short Story Award. Her new novel, Burntcoat, is written with the electrifying intensity and precision for which she’s acclaimed. Set during a COVID-19-like pandemic, it tells the story of Edith Harkness, a sculptor at work in her enormous studio in Burntcoat, a renovated warehouse. As she prepares for death, the virus having caught up with her, Edith reflects on her life: her mother Naomi, a writer who had to relearn everything after she survived a blood clot on the brain; and her own love affair with Halit, a Turkish man with two names and dual identity. Gothic and elemental, it’s an indelible meditation on bodies, physical contact, decay, art and love.

(Faber, 7 October)

Silverview, by John le Carre

Ten months after his death, the master of espionage is having his last word, with a final completed novel, set in the secret world he knew best. Julian Lawndsley has turned his back on a lucrative career in the City to run a bookshop in a quiet English seaside town. But after only a few months, his newfound tranquillity is disturbed by Edward, a Polish émigré who seems to know far too much about Julian’s family and lives in a large house on the edge of town called Silverview. Meanwhile in London, a spy chief learns of a hazardous leak and follows his leads … to Silverview. This riveting thriller from the author of classics such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy explores a conflict between public duty and private morals.

(Viking, 14 October)

Release the Beast: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Life, by Bimini Bon Boulash

Bimini Bon Boulash burst onto our screens as the star of RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 2. Now she’s penned an ‘anti-self-help book’ articulating how drag helped a ‘confused, gender nonconforming, queer kid’ find her voice and use it to help others love and express themselves. Explaining how drag saved her from self-destruction, she presents ten life lessons it’s taught her, from Be a Cis-Tem Offender to Know Your Her-Story, all complemented by Jules Scheele’s distinctive illustrations. Reflecting on her early years and path to self-acceptance, she tackles gender norms, fitting in, performance and prejudice. Citing icons from Dolly Parton to Kate Moss, this frank, funny and empowering book equips readers to overcome fear, celebrate uniqueness and embrace their authentic self.

(Viking, 14 October)

Oh William!, by Elizabeth Strout

The Pulitzer Prize-winning, Booker-longlisted author of Olive Kitteridge returns with a sequel to I Am Lucy Barton, which finds our narrator recently widowed, living in New York as a writer. Unexpectedly, she reconnects with her first husband, William, a longstanding, if sporadic confidante. The novel traces the shifting tenor of their relationship through college and courtship to the birth of their daughters, the breakdown of their marriage and the separate lives they establish. What emerges is a poignant portrait of two people connected by shared history and children, and the surprising hurdles we continue to face in later life. Written with the mastery of voice and emotional insight that has won Strout international acclaim, Oh William! is another classic in the making.

(Viking, 19 October)

A Modern Way to Live, by Matt Gibberd

In this gorgeously illustrated book, the co-founder of pioneering estate agency and lifestyle brand The Modern House introduces a design philosophy that can be successfully applied to any home, regardless of size or period. Drawing on architectural history, psychology and experience, Gibberd sets out his guiding principles in the five key areas of space, light, materials, nature and decoration. He takes us behind the Instagram feed into the most remarkable living spaces he’s encountered and tells the stories of their conception and creation. Simple, elegant and practical, this is interiors inspo like no other.

(Penguin Life, 28 October)

Best new books: October 2021

From Manchester with Love, by Paul Morley

Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina, by Georgina Pazcoguin

Burntcoat, by Sarah Hall

Silverview, by John le Carre

Release the Beast: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Life, by Bimini Bon Boulash

Oh William!, by Elizabeth Strout

A Modern Way to Live, by Matt Gibberd

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