Photo: Goodreads
Cover Photo: Goodreads
The authors of Big Little Lies and Normal People are among those releasing their latest books in September

1. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Sally Rooney's new novel is the perfect solution to our collective Normal People hangover and the long wait for the TV adaptation of her book, Conversations with Friends to be released next year. The beloved author brings her signature writing style to this story about four individuals navigating the confusing world of romance, dating and adulthood. Her beautiful prose captures the quiet intimacy and silent anxieties of her characters, that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page. 

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2. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

From the author of Big Little Lies comes yet another enthralling drama centred around retired couple, Stan and Joy Delaney, and their four successful children. When Joy goes missing, the police are inclined to see her husband as the main suspect. As a result, the Delaney children are split down the middle on their father's innocence, each forced to re-examine their shared family history in a very new light. 

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3. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Award-winning author of All The Light We Cannot See, Doerr honours the enduring comfort of stories and folktales in his latest novel. We watch as the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky, finds its way into the lives of many across centuries, from an orphan in besieged Constantinople to a group of troubled children in present-day Idaho and even, a young girl on an interstellar ship who has never stepped foot on our planet. 

A deeply moving novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land celebrates hope and human connection in a time of isolation. 

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4. The Elephant Trophy and Other Stories by Paul GnanaSelvam

This collection of 18 short stories makes for a riveting read, as Gnanaselvam captures the full experience of the Indian community in Malaysia. He dares to discuss the real issues that face this diverse community stemming from sociopolitics, gender and social class, without forgetting to celebrate its rich culture and vibrance. 

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5. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Xiran Jay Zhao is on a mission to skewer stereotypes in her new genre-bending YA series. Her protagonist, 18-year-old Zetian sets out to avenge her sister and other young girls, who have been sacrificed in the battle against aliens that live beyond the Great Wall. Expect plenty of heart-stopping action, homages to historical Chinese figures and exciting twists on tired tropes, such as the dreaded love triangle. 

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6. Bewilderment by Richard Powers

Following his 2018 Pulitzer-prize winning book, The Overstory, Richard Powers presents another heart-wrenching novel about the bond between humans and nature through the eyes of an astrobiologist, Theo Byrne and his troubled nine-year-old son, Robin. An intimate and moving novel that beautifully portrays the love between father and son, Bewilderment has already been announced as one of the contenders for the prestigious Booker Prize this year.

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7. Constance by Matthew FitzSimmons

A sci-fi thriller set in a world where the wealthy are able to cheat death by uploading their consciousness into human clones, Constance begins when its eponymous heroine wakes up in her cloned body with no recollection of how and why she died. Desperate to find out the truth behind her first death, she goes on the run, enlisting the help of a detective on the way. The pacing of this novel is as original as its premise, as the murder mystery and its mind-bending plot twists are interspersed with thought-provoking discussions on the ethics of human cloning.

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8. Freckles by Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern is the Irish novelist behind PS, I Love You and Where Rainbows End—both of which were adapted into Hollywood movies starring Lily Collins, Gerard Butler and Sam Claflin. This month, she is releasing a brand new novel in which she experiments with an unconventional style of writing to bring her unique and eccentric female lead, Allegra Bird, to life.

We follow Allegra, nicknamed Freckles, as she moves away from her structured and sheltered life on the coast of Ireland to go on a mission of self-discovery after hearing the common saying: You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. 

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9. Fault Lines by Emily Itami

“Is it normal to fluctuate so quickly between feeling tender towards your husband and fervently wishing him a violent death?”

Emily Itami's debut novel is a modern Mrs Dalloway, providing an honest depiction of marriage and motherhood. Her protagonist, Mizuki is a Japanese housewife finds herself in quiet agony, despite her enviable life in Tokyo with a hardworking husband and two adorable children. She meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur, and escapes into a new reality. Fault Lines is a captivating short read, infused with dry humour, punctuated with moments of deep intimacy.

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10. Under The Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

T.J. Klune sets his heartwarming story in a tea shop on the edge of the mountainous woods, run by the owner, Hugo and frequented by Wallace Price. It also happens to be purgatory with the former as a ferryman to souls who need to cross over and the latter as a recently passed soul. What happens when it's time for Price to cross over? 

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