Man Booker Winner - The Gathering by Anne Enright

I am not a big fan of the Booker prize winners on the whole and this is no exception. Anne Enright does write lyrically, but after a while it appears rather self conscious. This is a really bleak book and certainly one could not describe the read as enjoyable. It also has the Booker hallmarks of being difficult to fathom, memories turning out not to be memories, confusion and general murkiness. It also does not really seem to go anywhere, there is no plot as such, nothing appears to be resolved and no decisions are made, perhaps that is true to life but does not, I think, make great fiction.

The Ghost - Robert Harris

I read this novel in 24 hours flat. It is absolutlety brilliant and impossible to put down for long. The story twists and turns and it is difficult to talk about the book without spoiling the plot. However, the major charm of the book is that no matter how much Robert Harris has disguised the protagonists, as you read you just see Tony, Cherie, and Robin! Delicious and wicked! - Oh and heaven help us if the CIA are that influential, do we believe it? Oh - ?????????

Making Money - Terry Pratchett

I have to say I am completely biased, I adore Terry Pratchett. This book is no exception. I read a review which said that this had none of the side -splitting laugh out loud jokes in it. There are a few but in this book the humour is more wry, after all is banking amusing, perhaps not, but Terry Pratchett's commentary is. Moist returns in this witty look at the world of banking, and do we think Northern Rock has a vault of gold...hmmm? Anyway I am sure if you are a fan of the Discworld, you will enjoy this latest outing. If you have not read any Pratchett then do start with The Colour of Magic and I guarantee you will be hooked! Incidently we were left with a bit of a cliffhanger, is Terry Pratchett going to tackle the Inland Revenue in the next book??

Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

I thought The Lovely Bones was brilliant, but this book is even better.
In The Almost Moon, Alice Sebold almost convinced me that the killing of another human being was justified. I would never have thought that I would feel sympathy for someone who had killed their mother.
Alice Sebold's quality of writing in this book is superb. I desperately wanted to finish it and find out what happened but at the same time on several occasions my reactions were so intense, that I had to put the book down, walk away and return a few hours later. It is the subtlety with which she leads you to discoveries, the gradual unfolding of Helen's life.
We are gently led and left to make up our own minds. I particularly liked how she has engaged the readers in the plot, through Helen's no nonsense and brutally honest narrative, the way we are left to consider how in the end it might be resolved and perhaps how we think that it ought to be resolved. Do I think Helen is a murderess? Well yes, but then again no............
I can see that this book will be so right for Book Groups, the arguments and discussion will be continuing for hours, I can't wait to share it with someone!