4321

by Paul Auster
A novel about an American called Archie Ferguson who shares my birthday!
The numbers in the title refer to the four lives that this character might have lived between his birth in 1947 and the early 1970's.
It is beautifully written with common links along the way in American history. It could have been a little bit cliched and forced but it wasn't. The final chapter of the book unlocks some of the secrets of what has been happening in the storytelling which just added to its pleasure. I will miss you Archie(s)! 8/10

Elmet

by Fiona Mozley
This is a debut novel but what a novel. From the outset it throws you off balance.
The narrator, a teenage boy seems to be wandering through some future post apocalyptic landscape but it turns out he isn't.
He calls his father daddy throughout the book but this does not quite fit with the character we learn about as the book unfolds and we learn why the boy is wandering as he is.
The other character is his sister who turns out to be far from the quiet retiring sort we are lulled into thinking she might be. It is a compelling read and although I found the ending very difficult to read it was a novel that challenged our views of family, commitment and society. 8/10

Lincoln on the Bardo

by George Saunders
A remarkable novel told in an unusual way through a myriad of voices.
The basic construct is that on the night Abraham Lincoln's son dies he gets caught in the bardo(purgatory) and some well meaning souls also caught there try to help him along to paradise while at the same time the grieving father visits the grave to hold his son for one last time. The characters are at various times funny, horrific, coarse but all universally dead!
I got a bit bored with it by the end but I enjoyed the imagination 6/10

History of Wolves

by Emily Fridlund
An interesting story of a girl brought up in the backwoods of Minnesota as part of a hippy commune already broken up by the time the story starts.
Madeline is fifteen and this story takes place over the summer as she gets involved with a family across the lake who employ her to look after their four year old. Not everything is as it seems and we soon realise something dreadful is going to happen. It is a gripping story with a number of sub plots that left me a little perplexed-her ex school teacher for one. Would still recommend it though 7/10

Exit West

by Mohsin Hamid
A retelling of Antigone set in the modern day this story had me gripped from beginning to end. A tale of three british asian siblings who get caught up in the struggles of our times. It does not have a happy ending but in the way of the Sophocles play, family devotion wins out over loyalty to the state which is uplifting 9/10

Days Without End

by Sebastian Barry
A story set in the American civil war lent some wry humour by a cross dressing soldier and his lifelong friend. It was very readable but not really my cup of tea 5/10

Reservoir 13

by Jon McGregor
The supposed central character of this book is Rebecca who disappears just before new years eve. She pops up throughout the book but the real star of the show is the village and it's changing and unchanging life over a period of some 10 years. It is a simple story beautifully told and, living in a village and having an allotment, I found resonances in so much of the detail. I loved this book 9/10

The Underground Railroad

by Colson Whitehead
This book grew on me as it went along. The story of a black slave in pre-civil war America is a timely reminder of the evils of racism and how barbaric man can be.
Cora, the slave in question who tries to runaway, is the character who holds the narrative together. I liked the construct of a physical underground railroad that was used to take slaves from state to state and examine the various stances different parts of the US took.
However, I never quite engaged with the narrative for some reason 5/10

Home Fire

by Kamila Shamsie
A story of 3 siblings -British Asians who are torn apart by current political turmoil. This book is riveting reading and definitely one of the best books I have read this year. It progresses at a breathtaking pace as the storytelling passes from one character to another. 9/10

Autumn

by Ali Smith
A round up and, to some extent, a comment on the current state or mood of the country. It is a story of the friendship between an old man, Daniel and a young girl/woman, Elisabeth that is full of imagination and humour that I loved. Quirky at times and maybe lopping off characters -such as Elisabeth's lovers-too quickly I really enjoyed it which almost certainly kills off its chances in the Man Booker prize for which it has been longlisted. 9/10

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

by Arundhati Roy
This is an engaging book but I found that when I picked it up I found it hard to put down, but when I put it down I felt no urgency to pick it back up.
The story is that of an Indian transexual who sets up an odd but engaging community in an old graveyard. The characters are tragic and comic and larger than life but they have a vibrancy that draws the reader in. A large part of the middle of the book is taken up with the Kashmir conflict and the relationship of 2 people caught up in it. This was interesting but for me a bit to long but a good read all the same 8/10

Swing Time

by Zadie Smith
Based in London, New York and Africa it follows the fortunes of an unnamed narrator and her relationship with her parents, her pop superstar boss and her childhood friend, Tracey.
The parts looking back to her childhood worked really well and resonated with me but it then seemed to lose its way. The big revelations in the book were not so great and the ending felt rushed and didn't quite work for me. The nameless narrator became quite forgettable. 6/10