Between Britain
Alistair Moffat
Canongate, £10.99, pp309 (paperback)
Moffat’s journey along the border between England and Scotland has been billed as a walking history of the two countries, but this is no gentle ramble through the last eight centuries. Instead, Between Britain interrogates Moffat’s identity through travelogue – and the intricate politics of place. “It’s how the English see themselves that interests me,” says this fine Scots writer, although he too prefers not to be pigeonholed into a national stereotype. Complicated, thoughtful and wise, this is a walk through a shared past, present and future.
It Comes from the River
Rachel Bower
Bloomsbury, £16.99, pp288
Ever since Fiona Mozley made the Booker longlist for Elmet, a rich seam of eerie, folkloric northern writing has come to the fore, and poet Bower adds to this canon with an unsettling debut. As three contemporary women – desperate single mother Lauren, domestic abuse victim Alex and care-home dwelling Nancy – grapple with their bleak existence, a strange presence pulls these disparate characters together in a twisty, thrilling denouement. Bower opts for grim reality rather than too many fantastical elements, but finds some succour in female resilience.
Golden State: The Making of California
Michael Hiltzik
Amberley, £25, pp464
As an immigrant to California himself, this engaging Pulitzer-prize winner is perfectly placed to argue that there is something exceptional about this state; if it were a country, it would rank fifth globally in GDP. What Hiltzik does so well here though is get behind the mystical allure of the “golden state”, its gold rushes and silicon valleys, and talk as much about geology, geography and politics. “Californians cannot truly conquer this land, they can only occupy it,” he writes, concluding that it has always been a bellwether of change and evolution. Quite.
To order Between Britain, It Comes from the River or Golden State go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
