If you’re looking for a gentle, amusing read with a bit of contemporary relevance and by an author worth name checking, look no further than Various Pets Alive and Dead by Marina Lewyka, she of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian fame*.

Various Pets Alive and Dead tells the story of the Free family, who used to live in a Socialist commune, as memories drift to the surface and secrets are revealed. It won’t change your life, but it might make you smile wryly. It may also leave you with the question: does everyone who ever had a younger sibling and a pet hamster at the same time have a story about what said younger sibling did to the hamster?

*sounds like the kind of title I’ve seen in some academic profiles recently…