by Charlie Fabre and Victoria Bromley
The theme of our eighth issue (!!!) has now been revealed, and it’s Motion! Moving, drifting, stopping. Progress, coming to terms with, beginning. We love this theme for all the possibilities it might bring – but if you’re stuck and need some inspiration, we feel these books might push you in the right direction.
1. Time’s Arrow by Martin Amis
A unique piece of historical fiction, Time’s Arrow sets the events of World War II and the Holocaust in reverse chronology. The main character does not age, he becomes younger and younger. Prisoners do not leave camps dead, rather they enter, born anew. The motion of time is a central theme of the novel, and how the past and future could be affected if the chronology of everything had been different.
2. Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Winner of 2024’s Booker Prize, Samantha Harvey writes a novel about a small crew of astronauts on the International Space Station, and their view of the world from above. Time moves differently up in space, they orbit the Earth every 90 minutes, seeing all corners of it. And they are constantly moving, never stopping. She ruminates on humanity and how, perhaps, stillness is what we all really need.
3. Babel by R.F. Kuang
A historical fantasy book, Babel is set at Oxford University during Britain’s colonial empire. It’s a story about language and translation, and a story about progress and paths ahead. With path should one choose to forge? Who for? What actions will set consequences into motion?
4. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
After her wife Leah returns from a deep-sea exploration, Miri notices that something is wrong. Her wife is changed, but in a way that neither of them can explain or put into words. The sea and it’s wave patterns seem to live on in Leah, like she’s adapted to a new world – belongs there now. This novel is about grief and love, going through the motions of both, and what happens when people, quite literally, drift apart.
5. Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna
There’s so much movement in this novel. Maggie and Ed are moving out of London to raise their child outside of the city, Phil is unsure whether his relationship with housemate Keith is going anywhere, and Rosaleen is fighting cancer. Within a London heatwave, these characters are plagued by their own torments, all while a whale is beached on the Thames, static and unmoving.
6. Gender Theory by Madeline Docherty
Written in the second person perspective, you’re at university, you’re exploring your sexuality, people come and go from your life, you’re diagnosed with endometriosis, the pain ebbs and flows, it’s a part of you, your body is no longer yours as you move through this new life as a young adult making mistakes and trying to find yourself.
7. Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
A novel about a woman’s transformation into a dog. Going through the motions of motherhood, the protagonist shape shifts into a raging dog to escape the mundanity and exhaustion of her life. A stunning and grotesque novel of body horror and female rage.
Submissions open Sunday 16th February for issue 08: motion. Keep an eye on our submissions page for more details.
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