What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in March

I find it hard to read contemporary fiction while I’m in the middle of writing a novel, so I use the time after finishing as an opportunity to catch up. I hugely enjoyed two British novels, Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt, about friendship and business, and The New Life by Tom Crewe, about gay life in the 1890s. European fiction: Eurotrash by Christian Kracht is a funny novel about going on a road trip with a deranged parent; Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico is about the horrible life of digital nomads; Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk is an unclassifiable, riveting sort-of mystery.

• Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester is published by Faber (£20). To support the Guardian order your copy from guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

I am currently reading Tom’s Crossing by Mark Danielewski, author of House of Leaves. This novel is a 1,200-page modern western. I am astounded in every chapter by the depth of the characterisation and the calm, measured attention to detail. The main characters of Kalin and Landry (and their horses) feel as real as any person you would meet on the street. Though the length of the novel may seem daunting to some, I assure you that once you dive in, you will not be able to put it down. I cannot recommend it enough.

Related: Good People by Patmeena Sabit review – addictive mystery caters to modern attention spans

When I find myself without long stretches of time for reading, as has been the case lately, I tend to reach for short stories and poetry. Hue and Cry by James Alan McPherson is a brilliant collection of understated and deeply human stories about belonging and loneliness. Fifty-Two Stories by Anton Chekhov (translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky), meanwhile, is an absolute treat because in addition to many of Chekhov’s well-loved short stories, the selection includes pieces previously untranslated into English. And the poems appearing in Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón are beautiful and poignant and feel true.

Good People by Patmeena Sabit is published by Virago (£16.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

My most recent book is Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Cold War Prophet by Edward Luce. A dense autobiography that offers a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of the US and other world powers from the 1960s through to the beginning of the Trump era. Fascinating in that really we are still struggling with many of the same geopolitical issues today that we were 65 years ago. Dense in that it is written as an almost day-to-day account of conversations that occurred between key people as the world struggled with its own existence. A book to be read and digested piecemeal, but well worth the commitment to finish.

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy is incredibly powerful. Once I started, I could not stop reading, and it left an empty space in my day when I finished it. Having lived in Kerala, it also brought back memories of that time. Yet Mother Mary is so much more than a well-written and well-paced memoir – any piece of writing by Roy will always be. It is a declaration of absolute love for her mother and those around her. Roy transforms her mother’s abrupt and raw character into a form of balanced strength. She calls out chauvinism and stands up to it, walks alongside those who have no voice, and remains kind, loyal, and generous to those close to her. Refreshingly, she avoids stereotypical gender-based jargon and acknowledges those who have supported her, blaming no one but herself when things go wrong. This memoir is a joy to read in these bleak times.