If you’re tired of wellness claptrap, Clare McKenna's book should appeal to you
The nights are still long, the weather is still cold, the telly is still execrable, sure what else would you be doing besides diving into a book? The big publishers are back in full swing this week so there will be lots of books to look forward to from now on. Here are some to be going on with.
Would you be Well?, Clare McKenna, Hachette, €16.99
It’s in this godforsaken month that all the wellness ‘gurus’, the woo woo doctors, the gym-bunny nazis and the diet ‘specialists’ come crawling out of the woodwork. Armies of them, all over social meeja, TV, radio and anywhere else you can think of, with their often-contradictory claims. Why not go sea swimming (formerly known as swimming) or if you’re not near the sea, why not try wild swimming (also formerly known as swimming)? Why not drink herb tea instead of Lyons, eat avocados all the way from South America, go vegan or go have (one of my real favourites!) a sound bath? Trust me, you’ll not be getting wet with that one.
Clare McKenna, after years of being a slave to diets and gym regimes, has finally ditched the tyranny of it all and claims to be happier and weller (you know what I mean) than she’s ever been. In this book she charts her own journey through all the ‘wellness’ crazes and since taking a step back from some of them – but not all of them it must be said – she has realised that our health, which is the same as our wellness but with one syllable rather than two, depends on ourselves. Not exactly revelatory, but if you’re tired of all the claptrap and could do with a gentler approach to all round self-improvement, this book should appeal to you.
Darkrooms, Rebecca Hannigan, Sphere, €16.99
Caitlin finds herself returning to Ireland from London after 20 years – something she swore she would never do – after the sudden death of her estranged mother Kathleen. She lands in her hometown of Bannakilduff after being unexpectedly picked up at the airport by Deedee, the older sister of Caitlin’s childhood friend Roisin. Roisin went missing in Hanging Woods on the outskirts of town 20 years beforehand and Caitlin was with her, but Roisin was never seen again. Both children were just nine years old at the time. Deedee has been trying to figure out what happened to Roisin ever since, convinced that Caitlin has been lying all these years. She has even become a garda, figuring she might have more chance of solving this mystery from inside the force. But she’s an atrocious copper, lazy and ineffectual, with a big drink problem and a bad attitude. Caitlin is no better. She goes through jobs and men in jig time and also goes through other people’s money and belongings; she’s become a shrewd and calculating kleptomaniac. And back home is the last place she wants to be.
Old truths and old lies invariably begin to emerge in this slow-burning plot, and when the truth finally surfaces it’s not one the reader could have imagined. This is a dark, atmospheric novel, set in the familiar shadows of smalltown Ireland with its ne’er-do-wells and holier-than-thou types. It’s a place awash with drink and begrudgery and wretchedness, along with two unreliable narrators. An impressive debut.
Exit Strategy, Lee and Andrew Child, Bantam Press, €15.99
It’s yet another Jack Reacher thriller, the 30th novel in the series, but despite that, every Reacher novel is fresh and different, the plots are cleverly woven and the tension is always high. Jack finds himself in the port of Baltimore to attend a blues concert (that would be the Baltimore in Maryland, not the one in Cork!) when a stranger bumps into him in a coffee shop and intentionally plants a note in Reacher’s pocket. The note desperately asks Reacher for help and pleads with him to meet that night at an abandoned warehouse. Reacher does as he’s asked, and the man, Nathan Gilmour, proceeds to tell Jack his long and miserable life story, including how he once worked for military intelligence and how a gambling addiction ruined his career. Desperate for work, he accepted a job on the docks, imparting information about incoming shipments. When a colleague is killed, Gilmour decides to opt out, but his dodgy employers at the port authorities are now threatening Gilmour with killing his nephew. Turns out these employers are making money – heaps of it – from armed conflict in Europe and are not willing to let a man of Gilmour’s expertise go. But Reacher, possibly the world’s most famous vigilante, has other ideas. It’s fast and frenzied and smart and satisfying.
Best Offer Wins, Marisa Kashino, Doubleday, €24.65
A black comedy that has already been a hit in America, this book is published here this week and follows the trials and tribulations of Margo Miyake, living with her hapless husband in a cramped apartment in Washington DC and longing for her dream home. So far, she’s lost 11 bidding wars and she just can’t face losing another one. In fact, she’s willing to go full Bunny Boiler to ensure she gets what she wants this time! She learns of a dream home about to come on the market and decides she’s going to circumvent things a little for this house, in just the right DC neighbourhood, boasting wide-beam oak floors and carrara marble countertops. It’s also got a seven-digit price tag, but Margo’s determined. Her desperation turns her into a vicious, scheming madwoman and Kashino takes us through Margo’s unravelling with relentless black humour, although behind the wry wit there’s a scathing commentary on our seemingly insatiable appetite for status and wealth.
Footnotes
The Atlantic Irish Fest is a four-day programme of tours and music taking place in Donegal from this coming Saturday January 17 until the 21st. Tickets for individual events or for the whole weekend are available from Atlantic Irish Fest at Eventbrite.
Tradfest takes place in Dublin next week, starting on Wednesday 20th running until Sunday 25th. Events are taking place across the city and tickets are available from tradfest.com.