Annihilation

 by Michel Houellebecq

Well that was a cheery little number. The clue is in the title I guess.

We follow Paul, a high flying civil servant who is preparing with his boss-the finance minister-for the 2027 presidential election. We follow the story from the end of 2026 through 2027.

Apart from his career, his marriage and family are not in a good place and there is a wierd string of cyber/activist/terrorist attacks going on which nobody can fully explain.

It's a while since I read a Houellebecq novel but I really found this one interesting and as ever I was left with many unanswered questions-but you know that when you take one of his novels on 8/10

Balzac's Paris

 by Eric Hazan

A book about a man who loved Paris by a man who loved Paris. This book is full of interesting detail but you do want a map to hand to locate streets and areas that he mentions. Really enjoyable if you like Paris or Balzac or both 8/10

Wild Houses

 by Colin Barrett

A story of rival families caught up in small town drug dealing in Ireland. The characters were generally well drawn but it did engage me greatly. 5/10

Playground

 by Richard Powers

I so enjoy this author. His imagination and cast of characters are Dickensian in scope.

This story is about a couple of friends who meet at school and play a lot of games together but get absorbed by the game of go. One of them goes on to become a tech billionaire, the other does not. There stories intersect and fly apart and along the ways we meet a host of characters, learn about the oceans and AI and climate change and French Polynesia. It is capped off with a fantastic twist in the tale. 

The biggest surprise though is how this book did not reach the Booker shortlist. 9/10

Death at the sign of the Rook

 by Kate Atkinson

Jackson Brodie is back and he is on good form.

This is a very funny and entertaining book with multiple deaths and multiple reasons in true Agatha Christie style. Brodie stumbles into the mystery almost by accident and meets up with some old friends! It is great larks and written in a way that keeps it the right side of daft. Loved it 9/10