Mr. Pip

by Lloyd Jones
A book about one of my favourite books, Great Expectations. But this book is more about the power of a novel itself to transform our world and experience and even to save us from our experience. This book has the power to shock you as it describes the bloody civil war on a pacific island but also to protect you from these realities. The book is still lingering with me even after putting it down. Thank you Mr. Jones (and of course, Mr. Dickens). Great larks 8/10

On Chesil Beach

by Ian McEwan
As ever with McEwan this is beautifully written and evokes places and times in a wonderful way. I found the plot very thin and the end incredibly rushed but no doubt it will remain the bookies favorite for the Booker prize. I would still go for the reluctant fundamentalist. 7/10