The Man in the Red Coat

by Julian Barnes
Ok so first off, this is a beautifully produced book. The paper is the right thickness, the illustrations are interesting and help draw you in.
The writing is great and you can feel on every page the novelist wanting to get out of this biographers cage that he has placed himself in. Humour spilling over the edges is the result.
The biography of Dr Pozzi-and although I have seen the painting, I confess I did not know who he was-is a wonderful telling of society in the Belle Epoque. Pozzi is one character among many who shines out from the pages. I was amazed at the advances in medicine that took place at the end of the nineteenth century but fear not. This book is not about medicine, it is about characters rich in stories to tell and told in an unusual and brilliant way. 9/10

The Bastard of Istanbul

by Elif Shafak
Set in Istanbul and America this is a look at the Armenian genocide of 2015 from the standpoint of today through the eyes of Turks, Armenian Turks and Armenians in the diaspora.
It is told through the story of one family over the course of 20 years and with a big secret stuck in the centre of the story throughout. In truth, by half way through we know what the secret is but the tale is well told. I was disappointed with the contrived device of using a medium to inform the current generation of what happened to grandparents but that aside it was an interesting read with engaging characters. 6/10