Books in the media: Freeman’s debut hits the bull’s eye with critics

Sara Freeman’s first novel Tides (Granta) topped reviews this week, starring in the Guardian, irish time, Telegraph and Financial Times, while there was also praise for The anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier (Michael Joseph).

the Guardian‘s Lamorna Ash said of Freeman’s book: “At all times, writing in Tides must face an expanse of vacant space. The experience of reading such a novel is like traveling through a series of expertly designed studios. You marvel at every interior you come in: a whole in itself, not a foot askew in the design.

the Irish times‘ Sarah Gilmartin described Freeman’s prose as “tense and illuminating, a style that manages to be both detached and emotionally devastating”.

Alasdair Lees, writing for the Telegraph, listed Tides as one of the “four best first novels to read in 2022”. Lees wrote “if Freeman lacks the uplifting humor of Ella’s Baxter, she makes up for it with a sharp lyricism”.

The first novel presented in the FinancialTimes“Showcase of emerging novelists”. Suzi Feay praised the novel for being “an intriguing exploration of the effect of sheer closeness on romance”. the New York Times also included the novel in his “What To Read: Newly Published” article.

The anomaly by Le Tellier also made headlines over the weekend as Guardian, Time, FinancialTimes and New Yorker reviewed the novel.

the GuardianSteven Poole commented: “The disposable joke [in the first chapter], along with a shameless obsession with verbally recreating and name-checking the streaming TV drama’s staging, is typical of the book’s effervescent playfulness.

Christian house, of the FinancialTimes, described Le Tellier’s addition to science fiction as “intoxicating”. House wrote, “Le Tellier wonders what any of us would do if confronted with our mirror self. His characters provide a variety of answers.”

the TimeJames Walton applauded the novel for being “a book that could be described as thriller, literary fiction, science fiction, philosophy, satire, and several love stories all at once”. the New Yorker also included Le Tellier’s latest novel in its summary.

After making its way onto almost every list of most anticipated books of 2022, In Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara (Picador) featured in the Guardian, the Time, the New York Times, the Telegraph, the Observer, iNews, the Scottish and the FinancialTimes these last weeks.

the Financial Times’ Catherine Taylor described the final of In Paradise as accentuating “Yanagihara’s intentions for the novel as a whole, as expressed through the words of scientist Charles: ‘the truth about who we are, our essential selves, the thing that emerges when all else has been burned’ .