Our top book picks this week: the story of a half-human, half-tiger set in Indonesia and more

Plus: a new revelatory account of the second World War and a family story set in the years of the British Raj.

A Fool, Free

Beate Grimsrud

Head of Zeus, September 10

Eli is a respected filmmaker and author, But she has also lived with a mental illness since she was a child – a condition she has kept secret. This is a literary portrait of what it’s like to live with a mental disability, and the book won a top literary prize in Norway.

Man Tiger

Eka Kurniawan, September 7

This experimental novel tells the story of two interlinked and tormented families, and a half human, half supernatural white tiger. (In parts of Indonesia, some believe that magical tigers are considered good omens and can protect villages.) Eka Kurniawan is one of the rising stars of Indonesia’s emerging literary scene.

Belonging

Umi Sinha, Myriad Editions,

September 17

Lila is just twelve when she witnesses a family tragedy. It ends her childhood in India and she is sent to live with her great-aunt in the UK. Set during the years of the British Raj, this story spans three generations of one family as they try to free themselves from a history steeped in colonial violence.

The White Road

Edmund de Waal,

Chatto, September 24

When a type of Chinese clay is mixed with the right materials and fired in a kiln, it turns into porcelain. Writer and potter, de Waal, sets out on a journey from China to Dresden, to chart the 1,000-year history of this “white gold” and the lure it held for kings, craftsmen and collectors.

Nemesis: One Manand the Battle for Rio

Misha Glenny,

Bodley Head,

September 17

The story of how a hardworking young father went on to become boss of the largest slum in Rio, running it as his personal fiefdom and becoming one of Brazil’s most wanted criminals. The author was embedded in one of the favelas and details guns, drugs and violence in the seedy underbelly of Brazil.

The War in the West

James Holland,

Bantam Press,

September 10

Ending with the Nazi assault on Russia and just before the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor, this book is a mix of new research and revisionism. It took Holland about twelve years to compile and considers economic, political and social aspects as well as military. First in a three-part series.