Eleven: A Novel by Mark Watson

[rating=3] It takes a certain kind of person to laugh at the world, professionally. I have never met a truly happy, or even upbeat comedian; they’re all clowns, crying on the inside. ‘Eleven’ is definitely a book that is crying on the inside, despite its cartoony, Dilbert-esque cover. Ignore the back-cover précis that suggests you’ll […]

Submarine by Joe Dunthorne

[rating=4] A bizarre peek inside the mind of a teenaged Welsh boy; a twisted nod to classic YA. It’s like Sue Townsend’s ‘Adrian Mole Diaries’ meets Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ meets Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood’ but with NO HOLDS BARRED. Yes, this book is powerfully awkward at times. It’s rude. Impolite. […]