What we’re reading: authors and readers of the books they enjoyed in April | Books

Luke Kennard, author

This is a great year for new fiction. No All Inthey put the people they see best in the cooking pot of an all-inclusive vacation. It’s kind of a meta-beach read, and I loved it.

A friend of mine gave me a short book by Argentinian writer César Aira Spirits (translated by Chris Andrews), which I ate the other day. A family of builders wanders through a half-built attic and begin to see beautiful ghosts. It’s scary and captivating and made me determined to get hold of all his books. He was one of Roberto Bolaño’s favorite writers to enter him now, then look at your eyes when everyone is talking about him in two or three years.

I’m also slowly rereading Hilary Mantel’s French Revolution Maximum Security Area in agreement with my friend. I really like Camille. Regardless of location, every man in the 18th century was seen as a fat judge, but Camille was seen as the main singer of an indie band in Brooklyn.

Black Bag by Luke Kennard published by John Murray (£18.99). To support the Guardian, order your book from guardianbookshop.com. Shipping fees may apply.

Rosie, a Guardian reader

Jesus Christ Kinski Author Benjamin Myers was an unusual reader – a book about a movie about Jesus. Myers reflects on Kinski’s thoughts during his last performance at Jesus Christ the Redeemer in November 1971 when he may have had a mental breakdown and fainted before exiting the first half. At the same time there is a fictional story of a northern English author writing a YouTube video in 2021. I had no idea who Kinski was before I read this book, and I enjoy the author’s thoughts on cultural restriction and the problem of the creative genius who is a bad guy. It was a journey inside the mind of a very talented and arrogant actor, while I am also, dare I use this word, famous. This work can be seen in Peter Heyer’s documentary released in 2008 – that’s it available on YouTubeand it looks good.

Sophie Ratcliffe, author

I’m writing a fictional history at the moment, and I’m currently very interested in Henry James’s historical fiction, Aspern Papers. I love his magical writing, his precision, his Venetian decay. James is sharing a place in my bag this week with surprises Cynthia Ozick. He History and Other Stories it’s a world full of cupboards, lists and wasps. I have repackaged it Disasters – Renee Gladman’s amazing work of poetry about the phenomenon of painting and sound (or painting and sound?). Each of its 46 chapters begins with “I started the day”, which makes it a beautiful, hopeful piece.

Sophie Ratcliffe has been awarded this year’s EM Forster prize. He is the author of books including Lost Loves

Kate, Guardian reader

I have become a fan Flashlight and Susan Choi. It begins with the father’s mysterious disappearance on the beach and then explores the background and events leading up to it. It has a lot of meaning – Japanese culture, the occupation of Korea, the growth of two races and the destruction of women through MS. It is told through the eyes of a mother and daughter, who is one of the most complex characters I have come across in literature. I love how the tension slowly builds to the truth of what really happened.