Kalooki Nights by Howard Jacobson

I must be in the wrong frame of mind to read this book because I am giving up. The way this book was described to me was as "a British Philip Roth" which is pretty accurate. Unfortunately, I don't usually like Roth (The Plot Against America was the exception). This also has blurbs on the cover that talk about how funny this book is. I have to say, at no point during the 3/4 of the book that I read did I titter, chuckle or laugh. One other person is reading this one so maybe they will be able to see something I didn't and if so, I will pick this up again but for now I think it is time to put this aside and work on something else.

The Rhythm Of The Road by Albyn Leah Hall

This is one of those books that I am going to have to sit on for a while to decide if I want to nominate it or not. Superbly written and full of twists and turns, it is an engrossing and thought provoking novel.

This is a very British, very modern, edgy tale of a young woman trying to escape from the grim reality of her life, only to find that ultimately she cannot escape. Jo, the daughter of a trucker, becomes obsessed with a young singer and her band. When her father disappears, her obsession spirals out of control and she finds herself becoming more and more desperate. Eventually her desperation leads her to drugs and violence.

Old Filth by Jane Gardam

Old Filth is the story of Sir Edward Feathers, a lawyer, who as a young child was sent from Malaya to England to be raised properly. His father fading into the background, his school friend killed in the war and the death of his wife, have left Edward alone. After a certain number of losses Edward stops creating new connections.

What struck me about this novel is that everything in his life was designed to train him for the moment when he is alone and must carry on. Although on the surface this is a quiet novel where "not much happens", watching endless repetitions of loss resulted in this being one of the saddest books that I have read this year.