Piers Paul Read
Engleby by Sebastian Faulks (Hutchinson, £17.99), a risky but in my view wholly successful departure for this author of mellifluous, well-crafted novels — witty, intelligent, sinister, original, compelling.
The Last Mazurka: Passion, War and Loss in a Polish Family by Andrew Tarnowski (Aurum, £14.99), an intriguing account of the author's aristocratic family who lived in mediaeval splendour on their vast estates in eastern Poland until they lost all in the second world war: a historical vignette but also an honest examination of the suffering caused over several generations by failures in love.
The Illumination of Merton Browne (Sceptre, £12.99), a vivid, sometimes shocking first novel by J. M. Shaw set on a sink estate which combines a fast-moving narrative with intelligent digressions on politics and history, and an incisive, satirical critique of 'bog standard' comprehensive education.
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