Fiction We Can’t Wait to Read in 2022 (Part One!)
Just as I finally start to make headway with my 2021 TBR pile, 2022 comes a-knocking with a superb and hotly anticipated set of new reads.
If nothing else, we can always rely on the literary scene to pick us up and give us hope for the year ahead. From Australian debuts to internationally acclaimed authors, here’s a short selection of some of the fiction books I cannot wait to read coming up in the first quarter of 2022.
If You’re Happy by Fiona Robertson
Published: UQP, February 2022
Robertson is a staple and all-round delightful human in the Australian writing community (her insightful blog posts about all things reading and writing is worth spending some time with). So, I was quite excited to hear about the release of her short story collection this year. The stories in this collection are described as “impressive, thoughtful” as they “explore the human heart and its desire and capacity for joy” - which sounds like the perfect antidote to yet another pandemic year. Traversing the globe and detailing the ways life can fracture, these stories are ultimately about our ongoing search for something close to happiness.
The Grass Hotel by Craig Sherbourne
Published: Text Publishing, February 2022
Sherbourne’s previous work has won him several literary accolades, and this new work of fiction is set to be another excellent example of his masterful use of language. “By turns, savage and tender, raw and poetic,” The Grass Hotel tells the story of a man as he tends to his beloved horses, Sock and Boy. Haunted by the voice of his mother, fragmented from dementia, the man must battle through the reminders, memories and resentments of his failures in the world of people. A story of damage and repair, Sherbourne also explores the comforting and redemptive power of our connection with animals.
Son of Sin by Omar J. Sakr
Published: Affirm Press, February 2022
Poet Omar Sakr’s debut novel is a “fierce and fantastic force that illuminates the bonds that bind families together as well as what can break them.” From Turkey to Lebanon to Western Sydney, Son of Sin tells the story of young, queer Muslim Jamal Smith as he attempts to escape a past of trauma and violence to forge connections and test the limits of love. This is set to be a transformative and emotive read, as Sakr “deftly weaves a multifaceted tale brimming with angels and djinn, racist kangaroos and adoring bats, examining with a poet’s eye the destructive impetus of repressed desire and the complexities that make us human.”
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au
Published: Giramondo Publishing, February 2022
This one has already been popping up all over my social media, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. The inaugural winner of The Novel Prize - a new biennial award established by Giramondo (Australia), Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK) and New Directions (USA) - Cold Enough for Snow was selected as the winner from over 1,500 entries. Travelling by train through Japan, a mother and daughter holiday together, visiting galleries, churches, cafes, restaurants and other sites of note. Throughout their time together, the mother and daughter talk - or at least seem to - about anything and everything. Brokering the ambiguous line between tenderness and distance of the mother-daughter relationship, Au writes with extraordinary skill, creating an enveloping atmosphere. This one is not to be missed.
Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu
Published: Giramondo Publishing, March 2022
Another fiction debut from an acclaimed poet: Happy Stories, Mostly is the first book of fiction from emerging, young, queer, Indonesian writer Norman Erikson Pasaribu. On reading the description, “a blend of speculative fiction and dark absurdism”, I knew this was a collection to get on my (everyone’s) radar. Twelve “playful, charged and tender” short stories explore what it means to be almost happy but to never quite reach one’s desires - to almost find joy without grasping it fully. Queerness as a fact of life weaves its way throughout the collection, drawing on narratives of yearning, loneliness and resilience.
Eleutheria by Allegra Hyde
Published: Vintage, March 2022
A climate change novel with a thriller-esque twist. Eleutheria introduces us to Willa Marks as she attempts to hold onto what hope she has left in the face of her dead-end job and rising ocean levels. After finding a guide titled ‘Living the Solution’, Willa is inspired by its message and heads to the Bahamas to find the author and his ecowarriors at their Camp Hope. On arrival, nothing is at it seems, the camp is at a loss and time is running out. Willa must decide what she’s going to do it about - to save her hope, the mission and the world - but there’s a cost. Described as “propulsive, lyrical, and intimate”, Eleutheria is a portrait of a lost soul trying to save what they can of the world they love while they still can.
The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang (Eds.)
Published: Tordotcom, March 2022
A superbly unique, engrossing and diverse collection from an award-winning team of authors, editors and translators, The Way Spring Arrives, and Other Stories is a groundbreaking exploration of the expanse of Chinese science fiction and fantasy. Written, edited and translated entirely by a female and non-binary team, these stories have been translated into English for the first time. They showcase the richness of the genre from a collection of writers often left out or dismissed entirely. Leaving readers with “much to chew on,” this is set to be one of the most exciting anthologies to come out in the year ahead.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Published: Vintage, April 2022
Fans of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel will be excited to see the latest release from Emily St. John Mandel isn’t too far off. In this novel of time travel, space travel and metaphysics, a spectacular science fiction story awaits. Spanning between Earth and the Moon and across 500 years of humanity, readers are introduced to an intriguing set of characters as, in classic Mandel fashion, their stories slowly unravel, tangle and come together.
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How many of these were already on your radar? Who’ve we missed that we should add to our list?
There are so many more excellent books to come in the year ahead, this is just a small taste of what’s caught our eye so far. We’ll be back with an updated list in a few months!
Elaine Mead is a freelance writer and book reviewer, currently residing in nipaluna (Hobart), Tasmania. She is passionate about the ways we can use literature to learn from our experiences to become more authentic versions of ourselves and obsessed with showing you photos of her Dachshund puppy. You can find her online under www.wordswithelaine.com.
