1966: The Year the Decade Exploded by Jon Savage
The Beatles, Velvet Underground and The Byrds are just some of the bands to feature in this tribute to the year that encapsulated the Sixties vibe. Savage is also curating a show at the UK’s V&A on 1966. (Faber and Faber, November 19)
The Clasp by Sloane Crosley
Three old friends are reunited at a wedding – all are about to turn 30 and life has not turned out as they expected. Crosley wrote the best-selling essay collection I Was Told There’d be Cake and this is a homage to Guy Maupassant’s short story The Necklace. (Hutchinson, November 5)
Traitor by Stephen Daisley
In the chaos of the Gallipoli attacks during the First World War, David, a young New Zealand soldier, strikes up an unlikely friendship with a Turkish doctor when they end up in hospital. A strong bond grows between the two, but David is soon forced to choose between his country and his new friend. (Text Publishing, November 26)
Number 11 by Jonathan Coe
Bankers who need to build elaborate subterranean extensions to accommodate cinemas and swimming pools, while others are in dire need of food banks. Welcome to modern Britain. This satirical takedown skewers austerity policies and the lack of human empathy as seen on social media. (Viking, November 11)
Nigeria: A New History of a Turbulent Century by Richard Bourne
Colonialism, civil war and a deadly insurgency: Nigeria’s story is a traumatic one. Yet the country has large reserves of oil and mineral wealth. Here, Bourne looks at this troubled history and how many Nigerians still hope of a brighter future. (Zed Books, October 15)
Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel by Dan Ephron
The Israeli prime minister was killed in 1995, two years after the Oslo Accords. This history examines events leading to his death and the wider violence that ended Palestinian hopes for peace. (Norton & Co, November 3)
