11/10/13: John Updike – Towards the End of Time (1997)

“White light knifes beneath the window shade a minute or two earlier each morning, in strict accordance with the planetary clockworks.”

This novel is set in 2020 after a war between China and the USA, where protagonist Ben Turnball remains wealthy despite a highly unstable economy and a breakdown of social order. That major element aside, it is still John Updike doing what he does best – tracking human relationships and perceptions with uncanny precision, and musing upon how it feels to grow older.

There are several odd "alternative reality" digressions in which Ben imagines/believes he is someone/somewhere else. I'm not entirely sure these work, but Updike seems to be exploring the idea that experience is subjective. This makes for interesting plot twists: for example, it's suggested at one point that Ben kills his wife, only for her to return later as if nothing had happened. The writing is clever, and always vivid and perceptive, so why was it less enjoyable than it should have been?

Perhaps because John Updike draws his characters with such brutal realism that they are impossible to like. Or perhaps the bleak world in which Ben lives seems stripped of meaning, just as the "oceans are as exhausted and mined-out as the land".

It's a fascinating book and one that will leave you feeling uneasy and possibly rather disturbed.

02/10/13: Carrie Fisher – Surrender the Pink (1990)

"I like to talk to you. I like you as a person."

"As opposed to what? An end table?"

This is a supremely witty and perceptive novel about relationships. Carrie Fisher really gets inside the characters' insecurities, and mines these for dark comedy. Some of the dialogue is like Woody Allen at his best – perfectly judged chatter that casually reveals great truths through its self-conscious rhythms. It's generally known that Carrie Fisher's fiction is highly autobiographical and so it's especially interesting to read this after her memoir Wishful Drinking. Star Wars fans may notice the sentence "She felt sad and caught. Caught in the tractor beam of her old obsession." Subconscious reference to the Death Star pulling in the Millennium Falcon or just a weird coincidence? Either way, what a great novel!

05/09/13: Mark Lawson – Going Out Live (2002)

Extremely witty satire about a broadcaster whose personal and professional life starts to fall apart. Being a BBC broadcaster himself, Lawson obviously knows his stuff and it's tempting to read this novel autobiographically. However, that would understate how creatively and imaginatively he takes this raw material and shapes it into a genuinely funny and insightful look at celebrity, the media and identity.

23/08/13: Michèle Roberts – Paper Houses: A Memoir of the '70s and Beyond (2007)

Not many books could contain all of these sentences:

1. "All my life as a writer I have loved the semicolon."

2. "I had seen Suzy Seven-Up in a bar on Patpong smoking seven cigarettes through her c*** at once: I showed Bertie that I could do the same."

3. "I was so terrified I shat my trousers."

4. "Goodness: I'd become a lesbian."

5. "I could watch the sunset melt into blue-grey night, pick out the coiled lazy snake of the motorway, creased and glittering with cars, the oblongs of tower-blocks pitted with gold. Above me, jets trailed jewels."

The author writes nicely, whether it's on the wonders of working as a librarian at the British Museum or detailing her various London flats and the people she shared them with, and there are some very evocative passages: "In summer, people kept their long fron windows open to the night, rectangles of gold releasing the hot clatter of jazz."

She takes herself very seriously – not necessarily a bad thing. As an insight into life in London in the 1970s, this is a fascinating and rewarding read.

11/08/13: Ian McEwan – On Chesil Beach (2007)

Edward Mayhew and Florence Ponting have just been married and are honeymooning in a hotel at Chesil Beach, Dorset, in 1962. But on their first night together they are separated by class and expectations, and the physical consummation that Edward so craves is repellent to Florence.

How this very English scenario plays out – and the events that led up to this evening, and those that lead away from it – are played out in McEwan's ultra-focused, almost clinically precise prose over 166 pages. It's compelling stuff.

09/08/13: James Bowen – A Street Cat Named Bob (2012)

Touching tale (tail?) of a recovering drug addict/homeless man who adopts a lost ginger tomcat, who in turn gives him a reason to live. James takes to busking with Bob by his side or on his shoulders, and his fortunes begin to improve. Later he sells the Big Issue and ultimately becomes a minor celebrity – hence this book. Along the way, there are scary episodes such as losing Bob in the crowded streets of central London, being treated with hostility or suspicion as one of society's marginal figures, and the harrowing cold turkey of getting off methadone.

Bob the cat emerges as a great character – strong-willed and intelligent, brave but vulnerable – and it's moving to read about the bond that builds up between man and animal. This inspiring book is also a reminder that we need to be kinder to sellers of the Big Issue: they don't get given their magazines, they have to buy them. They are urged to manage this responsibly as a mini-business, as this helps them scrape a living with dignity (in a way that charity hand-outs don't).

James Bowen was more fortunate than most because his furry friend often acted as a magnet for public goodwill (odd how we relate to animals more emotionally than we sometimes do to humans). So spare a thought for those without gorgeous pets to melt the hearts of passers-by and read this excellent book.

20/07/13: Wilton Barnhardt – Emma Who Saved My Life (1989)

Gil Freeman moves to New York City in the 1970s hoping to become an actor. He shares a flat with Lisa (who wants to paint) and Emma (who wants to write). Parts of this debut novel, such as the beach house visit and the first night of Gil's show, are very clever and very funny. The book is also about youth, friendship and ambition and what happens to them as time goes by. Each chapter is set a year later than the one before, enabling the author to reflect the mood of the moment (news reports re: Nixon and Reagan both figure in the background) and offer snapshots of key moments in the characters' lives. It's very entertaining and moving, too. After 470 pages I would have been happy for it to go on a lot longer.

20/06/13: Nicholson Baker – The Fermata (1994)

Like Nabokov's Lolita, this book draws deliberately uneasy comedy from moral ambiguity. Arno Strine can pause time yet move freely while all around him is frozen. He uses this "gift" to peek beneath clothing and explore other obsessive thoughts about women. It's very rude in places.

Told with wit and great intelligence, the novel both charms and disturbs. Baker isn't afraid to offend, and doesn't try to "justify" the ethical minefield of Arno Strine's actions, although he does explore the issues they raise. He is smart enough to let readers make up their own minds and urges them to consider how they would behave if they had the same ability to stop time.

A hugely thought-provoking novel, but possibly an acquired taste.

11/06/13: Caroline Paul – Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology (2013)

Cat owner uses GPS and other methods to spy on her pet's wanderings. Much of the humour in this short non-fiction work comes from the author satirising her own obsessive/possessive behaviour, which will ring true with many cat lovers. The book asks how a small, furry feline can turn its carer into a somewhat deranged jealous monster. Endearing drawings by Wendy MacNaughton add to its heartwarming qualities.

Also recommended in this little-explored genre is Ian Phillips' Lost: Lost and Found Posters from Around the World (2002) – an anthology of lost-pet posters retrieved from various locations. It's a touching book – you realise just how much some people love their pets. It's also surprisingly funny, as many of the pet owners have been very witty in creating their signs – both in terms of the wording they use on the poster and also the doodles and modified photos used to illustrate them. There's very little commentary beyond an introduction and the occasional explanatory caption, but there's a useful guide to making an effective lost-pet poster of your own, should the worst happen...

09/06/13: Ali Smith – The Accidental (2005)

A brilliant novel. A family takes in – and are taken in by – an uninvited guest, who goes on to change all their lives in different, profound ways. Ali Smith realises the value of ambiguity and deliberately doesn't over-explain motives. She leaves enough mystery so that the unfolding story – told from all five characters' points of view – stays fascinating throughout. There are some beautifully written passages, too, so parts of the book have a very special, almost dream-like atmosphere.

20/05/13: Ed Park – Personal Days (2008)

“People drop off the radar once they leave the office. Week after week you form these intense bonds without quite realizing it. All that time together adds up... You see co-workers more than you see your so-called friends, even more than you see your significant others, your spouses if you have them... We know each other well but only to a point.”

Dryly witty and well observed with definite similarities to Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, but maybe that says more about the repetition of office life, which is examined so expertly in both books. As for the claims by reviewers that it's not funny enough, I would disagree. Like Then We Came to the End, Personal Days excels in a well-judged tone of tragicomedy based on sad-but-true reflections that make will perfect sense to office workers and indeed anyone who contemplates the small wonders and banalities of a working life.

13/05/13: Beryl Bainbridge – Injury Time (1977)

A very nicely observed slice of comedy and drama. Extremely well written, with amazingly perceptive observations about human relationships. The brilliant sideways turn in the plot (about halfway through) brings into even sharper focus the quirks and peculiarities of the great characters who have been so well established early on. It would make a great film or play.

05/01/13: Nicola Barker – Darkmans (2007)

“Beede was the original architect of the unflinching stare. Beede’s stare was so steady he could make an owl crave Optrex.”

Shortlisted for the 2007 Booker Prize, this is a seemingly chaotic sprawl of characters and situations that somehow starts to fit together. The characters are particularly strong. It's funny, too. Nicola Barker has a real gift for language and phrasing that at times recalls (early) Martin Amis. It's a long book and is best read in big chunks so that you can digest the hugely imaginative scope of it and become totally immersed in the world it creates.