The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

A classic novel which I very much enjoyed. The book conjures up a glitzy era of parties and romance which is easy to get sucked into.  The characters are well drawn and intriguing which makes this book very compelling.  Coupled with the excellent writing it is easy to see why this is an unforgettable novel. 

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Iceland in the 1820s and Agnes, along with two others, is convicted of murdering her employer and his friend. Whilst awaiting her death sentence, Agnes is housed with the local district officer's family and this novel follows both Agnes' harrowing wait to die and the officer's family's acceptance or otherwise of a convicted murderer into their household. The writing is excellent and although the plot is not especially gripping the novel keeps you very interested and this makes it a compelling read. The characters are very well drawn, particularly Agnes and the young priest who comes to administer to her. This is a relatively heavy book to read so not a beach read but definitely enjoyable and worth reading.

Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen

I enjoyed this book, which is about a photographer who moves from New York City to a remote rural cottage in order to help get her finances in order. I enjoyed the writing in this novel which is wonderfully descriptive but easy to read. The characters are well drawn and the story compelling. A very easy and entertaining read but has a real depth.

Capital by John Lanchester

A very readable book about the residents of Pepys Road, South London. I really enjoyed reading this book, which has some well drawn characters and interesting stories.  This book is not especially literary and some of the themes were a bit forced but it is very easy to read, entertaining and well written.

Marriage Material by Sathnam Sanghera

I really enjoyed this well written novel about an Indian family living in Wolverhampton.  The plot begins with a family of four who have moved over from India in the late 1960s and follows the son of one of the daughters as he grows up and moves to London.  This novel has racism and racial integration at its heart but it is not a moralistic or judgemental book.  The characters are very realistic and easy to relate to, which makes this a very compulsive read.  I enjoyed the writing which is often humorous and handles what could be difficult subjects very sensitively.  A great novel which is very easy to read but has a lot of depth.

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier

A classic story about an unhappy mother and wife who escapes to Cornwall and finds illicit love and adventure.  I read this in Cornwall which added to the atmosphere but it is a great read wherever you are.  The main character, Dona, is easy to like and this makes the plot more engrossing.  The writing is very good, with some wonderful descriptions of the Cornish coast and countryside.  Definitely worth reading.

Stoner: A Novel by John Williams

This is a very well written book about a young farmer who, whilst studying a course in agriculture, becomes mesmerised by a Shakespeare sonnet which kickstarts a long career in literary academia.  The plot is very unassuming and Stoner's life is not unusually remarkable but it is the writing and the observations on a normal life which make this a very powerful read.  Stoner is a very principled, just man who encounters personalities during his life which challenge his definition of right and wrong which leaves the reader feeling both desperately sad for Stoner and also questioning their own morality.  I enjoyed reading this very much but it will not appeal to those who look for an explosive plot in their novels.

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

A powerful book about a young soldier returning from Afghanistan. This book is difficult to read as it is easy to feel real empathy with the main character. The novel does not get drawn into moral or ethical debate about the war, but contains simple stories and human tragedies which gives the book it's great impact. The writing is simple but effective and the novel's straightforward narrative works very well for this sort of book. Worth reading and likely to stay with you for a long time.

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

A dark book about four lonely and cynical office workers nearing retirement and have to face the emptiness of their lives without the routine of work.  A very thought provoking and touching book which asks some subtle but serious questions about the meaning of life.  The four characters are each well drawn and distinctive and they work well together to portray the various ways individuals cope with the prospect of unlimited free time.  It can make for uncomfortable reading at times but definitely a worthwhile read.

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

A very dense, plot heavy book with lots of characters and the sense of mystery.  The book is set in New Zealand during the gold rush of the 1800s when a fast growing gold rush town is rocked by a disappearance and a death as a newcomer arrives to town.   You do have to persevere with the different personalities in order to engage with this novel which is a sort of murder mystery book.  The concept is based on the idea of the "golden ratio" so each section is half the size of the preceding section (so yes halfway through the first section you wonder if you will ever read another book in your life) and this irritated me a little as surely a book should start with a concept based on something other than how long it is going to be.  There is also a focus on the signs of the zodiac and two of the characters are (I am reliably informed by the author) the personification of the moon and sun.  Basically, it is a bit weird and although it is readable and has some exciting bits I don't think the ending is worth the investment.  An impressive book to have written, and I admire the effort but the output (for the reader) is not especially entertaining.

The Lowlands by Jhumpa Lahiri

A powerful novel about two brothers growing up in Calcutta.  Inseparable as children, the brothers attend different colleges as students and their lives start to diverge leading one brother to a life of revolution and tragedy and another to discover a new career and culture in America.  The book is touching, particularly the beginning sections focusing on the relationships between the brothers and their family.  I enjoyed the writing and the dialogue is believable.  However, I did not connect easily with the character of Subhash who was quite unemotional and at times seemed very disconnected from the narrative.  The female characters were more interesting and complex and their plots were more compelling as a result.  Definitely worth reading but not a book I fell in love with.

A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

A strange novel which I loved at the beginning but which tapered off slightly.  There are two main characters in this book.  The first is Nao, a young Japanese girl who is forced to return to Tokyo from America after her father is made redundant and who starts to write a sort of diary/letter to an unidentified person to try and deal with the emotions which are engulfing her following the move to Japan.  The second character, Ruth is based on the author herself and is a Canadian woman living with her husband on a remote island who finds Nao's diary on the beach and as she reads it, finds herself increasingly drawn to Nao and her family.  I really enjoyed the interplay between the two characters but Nao's story is perhaps more interesting, particularly as she spends time in a Buddhist temple with her grandmother, Jiko, who is a fascinating character.  The writing in this book is simply but elegant and the plot unusual but engaging.  I did think that the narrative slowed a bit towards the end of this book but overall definitely worth reading.  Probably my second favourite on the Booker longlist, after We Need New Names.

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

A fascinating novel about LA, this book follows a number of different characters and stories some of which are dealt with in one or two pages and some of which the author continues to return to as their stories begin to develop.  Interspersed with these stories are facts about LA and its inhabitants which describe a much darker side to the city than the movie star dream.  The writing style is quite difficult to get into as it lacks punctuation but once you got used to this I really enjoyed the immediacy of this style as it really draws in the reader.  To begin with, the constant changing between characters makes the book a little disjointed but this settles down as four main characters emerge from the different threads.  This book is a very surprising read which I found dark, interesting and very engaging.  Definitely recommended.

Harvest by Jim Crace

A book about a small self sufficient community in England who work collectively to gather their wheat harvest and tend their lands. The book is narrated by Walter, a relative newcomer to the community who has loyalties both to the villagers and to the local gentleman landowner. The plot begins with two simultaneous events - a burnt out dovecote and the arrival of some travellers - and progress into a much more destructive chain of events. The plot is interesting and compelling and the writing very good. I enjoyed Walter's narrative thread which gives this book a deceptively gentle pace. A very good, thought provoking novel.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A very enjoyable novel about a young Nigerian girl, Ifemelu, who moves to America to study, leaving behind her family and her boyfriend. The book charts the struggles Ifemelu faces as she tries to start a new life in America and finds herself split between two cultures. The writing in this book is wonderful - really emotive and beautifully portrayed - and the characters are realistic and engaging. My only criticism is that I did find the part of the book which is narrated by Ifemelu's childhood boyfriend less powerful and immediate than the rest of the novel.  Overall, I really enjoyed this book which is definitely worth reading.

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

I really enjoyed this well written novel about a small family from an Afghani village whose lives take them in very different directions. The novel does not have one central character but shifts it's focus through the chapters to different members of the family and the people they forge relationships with. On occasion this makes the book a little frustrating as there are times when the changes in narrative leave behind a really interesting plot but overall this style works very well with the idea of disparity amongst families and the twists of fate which change lives. This book is definitely worth reading and whilst it is not as outstanding as his other books certainly holds it's own as an engaging read.

Mateship With Birds by Carrie Tiffany

A short but powerful novel about Harry, a dairy farmer in Australia who befriends his neighbour, Betty, and her two children. Harry is a likeable, interesting character who is revealed very slowly as the book progresses. The plot is simple but not slow so the book remains very engaging. The writing is enjoyable and sometimes thought provoking although not outstanding. Definitely worth a read as this is an enjoyable novel which tackles some big subjects in a very sensitive way.

If Jack's in Love by Stephen Wetta

An enjoyable novel about Jack, an intelligent boy who's part of a red neck family whose neighbours distrust their poverty stricken way of living. When Jack's brother is suspected of murder Jack suffers even more from his peers' prejudices as he tries to better himself despite his social disadvantages. I loved the writing in this book which is easy to read but has fantastic depth, and the characters are all easy to believe in. The plot is a little indistinct but this does not prevent this being a great book.

Norweigan by Night by Derek B. Miller

This is a very difficult book to review. It is about an old Jewish man, Sheldon, who moves to Norway from America to live with his granddaughter, Rhea, after the death of his wife. Rhea and her husband suspect Sheldon may be suffering from dementia and as the reader it is not immediately apparent whether this is a correct diagnoses. Sheldon is apparently confused about his involvement in the Korean War and is racked with guilt over the death of his son, Saul, in the Vietnam War. The plot flicks between Sheldon's recollections of his time at war, his own delusions and an intriguing police investigation into a murder which Sheldon is inadvertently involved in. These transitions were on occasion a bit difficult to follow, particularly the delusions/flashbacks involving the war(s) which, for me, did not sit well with the remainder of the novel. It was almost as if the writer thought the aspects of the novel involving the analysis of war and conflict were too boring so had to be interspersed with some car chases and guns. Which to be fair is very astute. However, although I found the plot a bit disappointing, the writing is excellent and helps to lift this book. This is a very unusual book which is worth a read but is very hard to categorise and it's even harder for me to determine whether I actually liked it.

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

Set in the early 1850s, this novel is about Honor, a young Quaker who moves to the US with her sister following the break up of her engagement. Honor suffers during the long journey to Ohio and finds it difficult to settle in her new community, particularly struggling with the prevalence of slavery and the casual racism of her neighbours. As Honor befriends Belle, a non-Quaker milliner, and starts to help runaway slaves to make it to Canada and freedom, she becomes increasingly alienated which puts her relationships under further strain. 

I really enjoyed this book which is very interesting and excellently researched. Honor is a well drawn character but occasionally a little insipid which can be a bit frustrating. Belle is a much more colourful character and possesses a strength of will which makes her much more compelling than Honor. Although I did find the plot a little slow in places, it definitely sustains your interest. Overall a very well written and fascinating book about community and social prejudice.