6 exciting books coming this month
Whether you want to learn how to create the perfect family feast, travel back in time or escape to Italy, there’s plenty of fantastic new books coming out in April.
1. Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
A virtuoso performance by the bestselling author of Still Alice, Lisa Genova delivers a stunning novel of finding harmony amidst the most tragic of situations.
An accomplished concert pianist, Richard has already suffered many losses in his life: the acrimonious divorce from his ex-wife, Karina; the estrangement of his daughter, Grace; and now, a devastating diagnosis. ALS. The relentlessly progressive paralysis of ALS begins in the cruellest way possible – in his hands. As Richard becomes more and more locked inside his body and can no longer play piano or live on his own, Karina steps in as his reluctant caregiver.
Paralysed in a different way, Karina is trapped within a prison of excuses and blame, stuck in an unfulfilling life as an after-school piano teacher, afraid to pursue the path she abandoned as a young woman. As Richard's muscles, voice and breath fade, the two struggle to reconcile their past before it's too late.
2. CWA Country Classics by the Country Women’s Association
The Country Women's Association of Australia has been at the heart of country life for almost 100 years, feeding families, preparing food for friends, preserving fresh produce and baking for loved ones everywhere.
Now, this updated collection brings together more of their very best recipes in a handsome companion volume to the bestselling hardback Country Women's Association Classics. The recipes you will find inside are typical of the home-style cooking that’s synonymous with the CWA: salads and soups; casseroles, pies and hearty bakes; puddings, cakes, biscuits and slices; pickles, chutneys, lemon butter and quince paste. This is simple yet wonderful food, as cooked by the nation's experts.
3. Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes
The new novel from the bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun tells the story of four American women who become unexpected friends when they move to a beautiful villa in Tuscany.
Kit Raine, an American writer living in Tuscany, is working on a biography of her close friend, a complex woman who continues to cast a shadow on Kit’s own life. Her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women – Julia, Camille, and Susan – all of whom have launched a recent and spontaneous friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. Susan, the most adventurous of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of staid retirement by taking a lease on a big, beautiful house in Tuscany.
Though novices in a foreign culture, their renewed sense of adventure imbues each of them with a bright sense of bravery, a gusto for life, and a fierce determination to thrive. But how? With Kit’s friendship and guidance, the three friends launch themselves into Italian life, pursuing passions long-forgotten—and with drastic and unforeseeable results.
4. Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Anita Heiss
What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia? This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Anita Heiss, attempts to showcase as many diverse voices, experiences and stories as possible in order to answer that question. Each account reveals, to some degree, the impacts of invasion and colonisation – on language, on country, on ways of life, and on how people are treated daily in the community, the education system, the workplace and friendship groups.
Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile identities sit alongside newly discovered voices of all ages, with experiences spanning coastal and desert regions, cities and remote communities. All of them speak to the heart – sometimes calling for empathy, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect.
This ground-breaking anthology aims to enlighten, inspire and educate about the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia today.
5. Eleanor’s Secret by Caroline Beecham
London, 1942: When art school graduate, Eleanor Roy, is recruited by the War Artist Advisory Committee, she comes one step closer to realising her dream of becoming one of the few female war artists. But breaking into the art establishment proves difficult until Eleanor meets painter, Jack Valante, only to be separated by his sudden posting overseas.
Melbourne, 2010: Although reluctant to leave her family at home, Kathryn can't refuse her grandmother Eleanor's request to travel to London to help her return a precious painting to its artist. But when the search uncovers a long-held family secret, Kathryn has to make a choice to return home or risk her family's future, as Eleanor shows her that safeguarding the future is sometimes worth more than protecting the past.
Eleanor's Secret is at once a surprising mystery and compelling love story.
6. The Little Italian Bakery by Valentina Cebini
A novel from the publisher of The Little Paris Bookshop.
The scent of freshly baked biscuits, lemon and aniseed reminds Elettra of her mother's kitchen. But her mother is in a coma, and the family bakery is failing. Elettra is distraught; she has many unanswered questions about her mother's childhood – Edda was a secretive woman. The only clue is a family heirloom: a necklace inscribed with the name of an island.
Elettra buys a one-way ticket to that island, just off the coast of Sardinia. Once there, she discovers a community of women, each lost in their own way. They live in a crumbling convent, under threat from the local mayor and his new development plan. It is within the convent's dark corridors and behind its secret doors that Elettra discovers a connection to her mother's past. She also falls in love again: with friendship, baking and adventure.