Mini excerpts from The Bee Sting by Paul Murray; In Ascension by Martin MacInnes; Old God s Time by Sebastian Barry; The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng; A Spell of Good Things by Ayobami Adebayo; The Other Eden by Paul Harding; How To Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney; and Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein.