There were five books I fancied reading off this year’s Booker longlist - I read four before the shortlist came out and none of the four made the cut. This was the fifth. I’m pretty certain it is the favourite to win. (Yes, 6/4 at William Hill as I write this. But that’s never much of a guide as the betting public (even on literary prizes) and literary judges are not made of the same stuff.) It’s by far my favourite of the five. So on two counts I feel it’s unlikely to win!

This is a short book but it’s not short on story, there’s all kinds of layers of meaning and plot, and it’s very elegantly written and makes a good read. There was one thing I thought was a bit ridiculous (without loading this writeup with spoilers: I really don’t see how Tony was supposed to “get” the “it” in “you just don’t get it, Tony”). And although that was integral to the story it didn’t spoil the whole thing for me. Overall it was a really good book that I had no hesitation over giving five stars to.