Natasha Brown’s impressive novella Assembly (Hamish Hamilton, £12.99; Tablet price £11.69) reflects on race and class in Britain today. The unnamed narrator is a Black British Oxbridge graduate with a high-powered job in finance and a white boyfriend whose parents “tolerate” her. When she is diagnosed with cancer, she re-evaluates her life and makes a difficult choice. Through a series of vignettes, Brown reveals the insidious racism navigated by her character. She is at the “crescendo” of her career but is constantly reminded of quotas, diversity and her good fortune.