The Ruins by Becky Docton. This is a generational story across three decades, which begins in 1937 when a mother abandons her young girl on a Devon railway station, leaving her in the care of strangers and from which point the child is forced to navigate the rest of her life. It’s a very compelling and moving story set in a period of enormous change throughout the world.

Never Say War by Asne Seierstad. The author met a young mercenary from the Wagner Group who sought asylum in Norway and through him, and after subsequent travels around Russia, was able to write the very human story of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine which may not be referred to as a war but has transformed the lives of millions. From Siberia, to villages, to the cities and in homes and workplaces, this is journalism at its finest. Insightful, humane and riveting.

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