Having spent some time wondering why historical settings have been so popular in this year’s long list, we come to a novel which is categorically, unequivocally contemporary. Not only in […]

To the long list of distinguished novels set in the Second World War – The English Patient, The Reader, Birdsong, to name but a very few – must be added […]

In his round-up of this year’s Man Booker longlisted titles, Philip Hensher called Almost English the novel that everyone would love. It’s a social comedy involving a homesick teenager, an […]

Five Star Billionaire is a novel rich in vivid characters, with a setting unfamiliar enough to be interesting, described in just enough detail to be familiar. Not everyone has a […]

We are in Africa, more specifically in Zimbabwe, Bulawayo’s homeland. The voice is that of ten-year old Darling, running from her shanty town to steal guavas from the gardens of […]