China Room

 by Sunjeev Sahota

A book set in India and the UK across two different times. A young second generation British Indian is trying to kick an opium addiction and is goes back to family in India to try and help.

His great grandmother was one of three girls married to three brothers at the same time, but none of the brides knew who their husband was. She is compromised by a series of misunderstandings and the story gradually unfolds for both her and the narrator. 

I really enjoyed this book and would have liked to see it make the Booker shortlist. The judges felt otherwise! 8/10

A town called Solace

 by Mary Lawson

Set in a town in the far North of Canada the story is told through the eyes of three characters linked in tenuous ways but brought together by an old house and a cat and two traumatic events 30 years apart.

I really enjoyed this book and the balance between the narrators worked well. A special mention to Moses the cat! 9/10

An Island

 by Karen Jennings

A short book and not one I found that interesting. The hero(anti-hero) Samuel, tells his life story from an island he lives on alone, and which is disturbed by the arrival of a washed up refugee. 5/10

The Promise

 by Damon Galgut

This could have a subtitle of 4 funerals and no wedding (or at least not one we are invited to.
This book traces the fortunes of the Swart family over 30 years by dropping in on various deaths in the family. I started reading this fearing the worst  but the book grew on me as it went along. 8/10

Second Place

 by Rachel Cusk

Much more familiar Booker territory than my last entry.

A woman has an encounter with an artist's paintings in the Paris of her youth.
Years later she invites the artist to join her and her family on a remote salt marsh where they live. The book revolves around what unfolds during that summer and what maybe love and friendship means. Parts I enjoyed as good writing, much was very angsty. Not my favourite 6/10

Great Circle

 by Maggie Shipstead

Unlike many Booker prize novels this was a gripping story from the start and that maintained that driving pulse throughout nearly all of its 600 pages, The story of a woman looking to make history in aviation by a round the world trip north to south in the 1950's. 
The flight was never completed and our hero and her navigator were presumed dead as they were never found.

This is the story of her life and that of her brother and a childhood friend called Caleb. It was a great story and therefore in danger of not making the shortlist! 9/10

All Human Wisdom

 by Pierre Lemaitre

This was written in homage to Alexander Dumas and The count of Monte Christo.

It is a story of revenge and a definite feel of Lemaitre letting his hair down and having fun in this story set between the wars. Great fun 8/10

Inspector Cadaver

 by Georges Simenon

Out to the west again for Maigret where he is investigating a death on behalf of a Paris judge. Nothing official and a very closed tight lipped community and a private detective who once worked for Maigret. 
Maigret gets to the bottom of things but once again nobody is prosecuted, a recurring theme in his novels. 8/10

Trio

 by William Boyd

Set in Brighton in the late 60's this is the story of three different people whose lives interact loosely around a film being made in East Sussex.

As ever the writing is compelling but this is not the best William Boyd novel I have read, bordering on farce at times. 6/10

Weather

 by Jenny Offill

A novel that is everything Trollope is not, apart from being very funny in places.
Its a short novel capturing much of the angst of modern life. Very readable and lots of tips for surviving when the lights go out! 7/10

Can you forgive her?

 by Anthony Trollope

The first of the Palliser novels. A long book with lots of fun interjections from the narrator this is a book that introduces Plantagenet Palliser and his young wife who brings much wealth with her.
The title character is a cousin who is strong minded but changeable to say the least when it comes to love. Thankfully, things have changed in the last 200 years. I ended up forgiving her! 8/10

Signed, Picpus

 by Georges Simenon

A murder foretold is a little too convenient for Maigret as he sets about investigating the murder of a clairvoyant. Good fun 7/10

The Judge's House

 by Georges Simenon

For some undisclosed reason Maigret has been banished from Paris to the provinces. In a small town near Nantes a body is discovered in a house belonging to a retired judge and the judge is trying to dispose of it. Very strange goings on in rural France! 8/10

The Cellars of the Majestic

 by Georges Simenon

A body found dead in the cellars of a posh hotel in Paris with fingers pointing clearly at one of the staff.

Maigret gets a trip to the South of France where he seems very out of place, as well as getting mixed up with a rich American before we finally discover the true murderer. 8/10

Cecile is Dead

 by Georges Simenon

A melancholy affair this one as Cecile should not have died and to some extent Maigret believes he is responsible. He gets to the bottom of it in the end though :) 8/10 

Yesterday

 by Juan Emar

A crazy book written by a chilean author in the 1930's. Very funny in places and totally bizarre throughout. 7/10

Maigret

 by Georges Simenon

Another strange case. Maigret has been retired for sometime and is living in the Loire valley near Tours.

His nephew, a policeman, does something stupid and is arrested for murder drawing Maigret back to Paris and his detective work.

I need to read around this as there are 55 more novels in this series and the next one has Maigret back in full detective mode so clearly not published chronologically. 8/10

Lock No. 1

 by George Simenon

An interesting book with Maigret about to retire and a strange barge owner whose past catches up with him. Darker than some but really enjoyable 9/10

Lean Fall Stand

 by John McGregor

A difficult but compulsive read. Robert, has worked for 30 years in Antarctica for several months of the year. On his last trip he has a stroke in the middle of a storm and further tragedy ensues. The large part of the book deals with the aftermath of these events and Robert's handling of his speech and mobility impairment. It also deals with his wife who holds a senior research post and the effect it has on her life. This gets lost toward the end of the book and I ended up musing on how this would pan out. Thought provoking stuff and written in a totally engaging style 9/10

A Sentimental Education

 by Gustave Flaubert

A book made interesting by its historical setting and the key events in the 1840's in France as it passed from monarchy to republic. The plot is limited, following the life of the main character, Frédéric Moreau. He is generally annoying but is in love with the wife of a man called Arnoux who is modelled on a real life character. His character drawing is good and some of Frederic's friends are at times funny, monstrous or to be pitied. I never felt any of this for our hero. 7/10