FT Best ofNovels to read nowWhich are this season’s best books?The Pisces by Melissa Broder — when opposites attractA debut novel about a girl who falls for a merman blazes with vibrancyMotherhood by Sheila Heti — legacy issuesA woman’s dilemma over whether to have children or to pursue artistic freedom is the crux of this probing new novelWhistle in the Dark by Emma Healey — lost and foundA mystery tale in which a mother is set on discovering the truth about her errant daughterDisoriental by Négar Djavadi — au revoir to all thatAn autobiographical tale of an Iranian family’s exile to France is woven into multi-sensory reminiscences of life before the revolutionWarlight by Michael Ondaatje — darkness risingTwo abandoned teenagers are introduced to a seamy side of war-struck London in Ondaatje’s powerfully sad new novelMothers by Chris Power — strange tales of maternal deprivationA daring collection of short stories with an aura of cool and featuring dislocated charactersMore from this SeriesFrom a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan — trials and trivialisationFrom Syria to Ireland, the fate of three characters collides with mixed resultsThe King is Always Above the People by Daniel Alarcón — dislocated and atmosphericShort stories in which dark forces shape the destinies of characters in fluxGreeks Bearing Gifts by Philip Kerr — moral ambiguity in the shadow of the Third ReichA hard-boiled detective pursues a killer while employed by some of the worst mass murderers in history — his own Nazi bossesYou Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld — inner selves laid bareA collection of short stories in which our longings and regrets are all too recognisableAll the Beautiful Girls by Elizabeth J Church — loss and glamourA moving and involving story about a Las Vegas showgirl attempting to conquer past demonsThe Neighbourhood by Mario Vargas Llosa — payback for poll defeatThe villain is an all-too-real figure who wielded terrifying power during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori in PeruThe Overstory by Richard Powers — a Great American eco-novelHumanity’s encroachment on nature is explored in a work that draws on the literary greatsKudos by Rachel Cusk — tour de force trilogy draws to a closeThe finale of Cusk’s experiment in ‘auto-fiction’ builds to a sparkling crescendoAnimal Lovers by Rob Palk — deeper and more affirmingAn entertaining debut encompasses divorce, deferred adulthood and badgers
