Sultry summers and polyamoury in this week's literary fiction: SKIN CONTACT by Elisa Faison, THE SUMMER BOY by Philippe Besson, ALL MY LOVE by Agnes Lidbeck

Novels about non-monogamy are hardly a novelty nowadays, but Skin Contact is a smart, involving debut written with an empathy and insight that ensures it never feels passé.

At the centre are thirtysomethings Ben and Frances, who are happily married when the latter is knocked off course by the death of her mother.

Opening their relationship seems like an opportunity to remedy the grief, and with the prospect of parenthood coming into ever sharper focus, there seems no better time than the present.

Needless to say, no strings proves easier in theory than practice.

Faison’s narrative moves freely in time, and between perspectives, as she pursues themes including ageing, motherhood and loss, taking in everything from the marital sacrifices made by earlier generations to the sensual deprivation imposed by lockdowns during Covid.

The most beautiful stories always end badly, as the narrator of this autobiographical novel – also called Philippe Besson – portentously notes.

His story takes place decades earlier in 1985, over the course of a summer spent at a French island resort.

Eighteen-year-old Philippe is gay but, refreshingly, this is not the source of the tragedy that is signposted from the start. He is not even the outsider: that role is occupied by newcomer Nicolas, a sensitive, troubled 17-year-old would-be artist.

Pretty holidaymaker Alice singles him out at once, but during one night of hormonally-driven, high-spirited revelry, the unthinkable occurs.

This is a poignant, haunting beach read about loss of innocence, the precariousness of existence, and that painful period of adolescence when the only language available is totally inadequate to the circumstances.

This short Swedish novel straddles the divide between family drama and dystopian, political thriller, but ultimately leaves the reader confused as to what is intended.

Twentysomething friends Petra and Julia are on a skiing trip when they meet Johannes and Axel, with whom their lives will become intertwined.

The former’s family is steeped in the law; the latter goes into politics, eventually serving in a repressive national government that’s responsible for a number of disappearances.

As time passes, Johannes’ conscience begins to gnaw at him, but in his marriage to Petra, now a no- nonsense surgeon, too much is left unsaid. Julia, meanwhile, becomes a journalist whose refusal to be silent puts her in danger.

Lidbeck has won acclaim in her native country, but this novel is too elliptical, and its characters too distant, to get purchase.