REISSUES
Pick of the paperbacks: Kazuo Ishiguro’s KLARA AND THE SUN (★★★★★ 3 March). Like Never Let Me Go, it concerns the impact of technologicalPick of the paperbacks: Kazuo Ishiguro’s change on what it is to be human. The titular Klara is an AF (Artificial Friend): a companion to the child of a rich family, whom we see growing up by watching and imitating. We said: “In its exploration of the heart in a robot’s hopes, happiness and memories, this is a quiet, beautifully written triumph.” Sylvain Neuvel’s latest, A HISTORY OF WHAT COMES NEXT (★★★★★ , 4 March) takes place in the early days of the Space Race. Weaving together fact and fiction, this alternate history reveals that rocketry pioneer Wernher von Braun escaped Germany with the help of one of the Kibsu, who reproduce clones of themselves down the centuries. We said: “At times it’s unclear where the trilogy may go, but that doesn’t make this any less of a blast. Seriously clever fun.” Finally, Gothic horror and social media collide in Emily M Danforth’s PLAIN BAD HEROINES (★★★★★ , out now, The Borough Press). In one timeline it’s the early 1900s at a girls’ school, where devotees of a scandalous lesbian memoir die in horrible accidents. In another, it’s the 2020s, and a maverick director is trying to adapt a book about said school. We said: “Danforth piles layer upon layer of narrative playfulness on top of her complex conceit… A confection that’ll give you the literary equivalent of a sugar rush.”