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For September my choice is Maritta Wolff’s “Sudden Rain”. Admittedly, this is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea…a tale of love, marriage and infidelity across a group of friends and acquaintances in 1970s LA, but before you dismiss it for being too ‘old’ or too ‘female’ just know this about the manuscript: the typewritten copy languished for 30 years in the author’s refridgerator, following a falling out with her publisher and it only resurfaced after her death, to be published posthumously.

There’s obviously more to Maritta Wolff than you might first assume. And one thing that strikes you immediately about the novel is how very well observed it is. She misses nothing and you will find yourself in any number of the characters’ mannerisms, I’m sure. She also has the most fantastic ear for dialogue, the book reading at times more like a play than a novel. Admittedly, it’s a style that has perhaps had its day, for there’s many an occasion where the weighty dialogue does nothing to move the story along, just faithfully observes the way we converse.

But the characters are interesting enough and the depiction of domestic discontent real enough to keep you engaged until the very end. And given that this was written more than forty years ago, you’ll also be amazed at the issues which she highlighted as being important, for they have stood the test of time until today.