Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe (Viking)
by Patrick O'Connor
THIS fictionalised account of the British involvement in the Expo or World Fair exhibition hosted by Belgium in 1958 is a deliciously witty 'espionage' novel which also pokes fun on how the British view themselves.
The main character is nondescript civil servant Thomas Foley, who is seconded to Belgium for six months to oversee a mock English pub called The Britannia in the British Pavilion.
John The Revelator by Peter Murphy (Faber)
by Patrick O'Connor
TEENAGE angst has been explored in many settings and author Peter Murphy chooses small town Ireland for this novel.
The tale follows John Devine, brought up by his single mum, the chain-smoking, Bible-quoting Lily with occasional help from interfering neighbour Phyliss.
The Innocent by Ian McEwan (Vintage)
by Patrick O'Connor
THE main protagonist in this story certainly starts off as an innocent but that can't last in 1950s Berlin.
It is the beginning of the Cold War and a joint CIA/MI6 operation builds a tunnel from the American sector to the Russian sector (an event which really happened). Leonard Marnham, is a 25 year old Englishman seconded from the Post Office to help tap the phone lines of the Russians.
A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks (Vintage)
by Patrick O'Connor
FIRST things first. This work, by one of Britain's leading writers Sebastian Faulks, is described on the book cover as a novel.
It isn't, it comprises five novellas – longer than a short story but shorter than a novel – and there is no obvious link between the five.
Some Kind Of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (Orion)
by Patrick O'Connor.
DO you believe in fairies?
Well, you might do after reading this enchanting novel by Graham Joyce which teasingly doesn't quite fall into any genre.
First Novel by Nicholas Royle (Vintage)
by Patrick O'Connor
THE author picks an unusual protagonist in this clever, intriguing story – a creative writing lecturer at a Manchester university.
The added twist is that Royle also teaches the subject at Manchester Metropolitan University so the reader is constantly pondering over what is real and what is fantasy.