MUST READS

NO TIME LIKE THE FUTURE by Michael J. Fox (Headline £9.99, 256 pp)

NO TIME LIKE THE FUTURE by Michael J. Fox (Headline £9.99, 256 pp)

NO TIME LIKE THE FUTURE  

by Michael J. Fox (Headline £9.99, 256 pp)  

At the age of 29, Hollywood star Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease.

He responded with courage and optimism, taking on roles such as manipulative lawyer Louis Canning in The Good Wife, and setting up a foundation for Parkinson’s research.

But 2018 proved to be his annus horribilis. He underwent major surgery for a tumour on his spine, later suffering a psychotic episode, and had to learn to walk again.

Supported by his wife, Tracy, their four children and his beloved dog, Gus, Fox recovered sufficiently to accept a cameo role in a new film — only to fall and break his arm.

Now 60, in this frank, funny and brave memoir, Fox admits to moments of despair. Yet he concludes that he still finds his life filled with joy and contentment.

LANCASTER by John Nichol (S&S £9.99, 464 pp)

LANCASTER by John Nichol (S&S £9.99, 464 pp)

LANCASTER  

by John Nichol (S&S £9.99, 464 pp)  

The Lancaster bomber was described by Sir Arthur Harris, the World War II head of Bomber Command, as a ‘shining sword . . . the greatest single factor in winning the war against Germany’.

The 7,377 Lancasters built during the war flew a total of 156,000 sorties, wreaking destruction on German cities. Yet the Lancasters’ young crews faced deadly odds. Of 125,000 men who served in Bomber Command, more than 70,000 were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

This history by former RAF Tornado navigator and Gulf War veteran John Nichol is threaded with the moving testimony of veterans.

It starts with the memories of 93-year-old former rear-gunner Sergeant Ron Needle, who survived a wartime crash in which his comrades were killed, and ends with his funeral — one of the last of the gallant men who flew the legendary Lancasters.

GHOSTS by Dolly Alderton (Penguin £8.99, 352 pp)

GHOSTS by Dolly Alderton (Penguin £8.99, 352 pp)

GHOSTS  

by Dolly Alderton (Penguin £8.99, 352 pp)  

At 32, Nina Dean seems to have cracked many of the conundrums of adult life. A successful food writer, she’s just bought her first flat and is back on the dating scene after ending a long relationship.

Yet alongside the excitement of a new book, a new home and an improbably wonderful new man, Max — who grows veg on his allotment and declares on their first date that he wants to marry her — there are troubling developments.

Nina’s new neighbour, Angelo, is inexplicably hostile, her oldest friend has settled into suburban domesticity with a husband and toddler, her ex’s fiancée invites her to the hen do from hell, her beloved father is showing signs of dementia — and after the first flush of passion, Max has gone worryingly quiet.

This debut novel is a tender, effervescent and deliciously well-observed guide to the complexities of thirtysomething life. 

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