“The pandemic novels are coming,” said Anthony Cummins in The Observer. Having featured tangentially in recent works by Rachel Cusk and Sally Rooney, lockdown is “far from a garnish” in Sarah Hall’s doomy “tale of sex and death”.
Edith, the narrator, is a sculptor in her late 50s, recalling a time, 20 years ago, when Britain was ravaged by a fictional “deadly virus” that liquefies its victims from the inside. Edith spent much of that lockdown in bed with Halit, her Turkish lover, said Claire Allfree in The Times.
She graphically describes their sex – with references to menstrual blood and “peculiar positions”. Although sometimes a bit of a “hotchpotch of ideas”, Burntcoat is elegantly written and captures the “grief-stricken, suffocatingly interior quality” of life during a pandemic.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Also fascinating are Edith’s “almost metaphysical musings on the virus”, which is slowly killing her 20 years on, said Stuart Kelly in The Scotsman. It is, she notes, “perfectly composed, star-like, and timed for the greatest chaos”. Of the many Covid-inspired books we’ll see, “few will be as finely wrought, intellectually brave and emotionally honest as this is”.
Faber 224pp £12.99; The Week Bookshop £9.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
Will SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic make 2026 the year of mega tech listings?In Depth SpaceX float may come as soon as this year, and would be the largest IPO in history
-
The Beckhams: the feud dividing BritainIn the Spotlight ‘Civil war’ between the Beckhams and their estranged son ‘resonates’ with families across the country
-
6 homes with incredible balconiesFeature Featuring a graceful terrace above the trees in Utah and a posh wraparound in New York City
-
The Flower Bearers: a ‘visceral depiction of violence, loss and emotional destruction’The Week Recommends Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ ‘open wound of a memoir’ is also a powerful ‘love story’ and a ‘portrait of sisterhood’
-
Steal: ‘glossy’ Amazon Prime thriller starring Sophie TurnerThe Week Recommends The Game of Thrones alumna dazzles as a ‘disillusioned twentysomething’ whose life takes a dramatic turn during a financial heist
-
Anna Ancher: Painting Light – a ‘moving’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends Dulwich Picture Gallery show celebrates the Danish artist’s ‘virtuosic handling of the shifting Nordic light’
-
H is for Hawk: Claire Foy is ‘terrific’ in tender grief dramaThe Week Recommends Moving adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s bestselling memoir
-
Our Town: Michael Sheen stars in ‘beautiful’ Thornton Wilder classicThe Week Recommends Opening show at the Welsh National Theatre promises a ‘bright’ future
-
Music reviews: Zach Bryan, Dry Cleaning, and Madison BeerFeature “With Heaven on Top,” “Secret Love,” and “Locket”
