The huge variety of characters that Faulks wields, interplays and twists means that while it is a book for everyone, not everyone will enjoy it. It is maybe slightly too long, yet for all that some characters are less rounded than others. You can certainly tell who Faulks likes or otherwise. And the characters are so diverse, from upper class women planning networking parties to a literate female train driver; from a radicalised British muslim to a totally amoral hedge fund banker, all of life is here as they say.
I guess it is a book for today, portraying contemporary (noughties’) London life, or at least, one person’s view of it. It is a serious, scary, hilarious, detailed, satirical, critical, emotional, vicious, well… you get the idea.
Well worth a read but probably not one you will need a torch under the bedclothes for.