Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

74%

07.01.21

This multi-textured modern fairytale/mystery/philosophical musing could have been pretentious and awkward. It mostly - miraculously - wasn't. I loved it as much as I did Strange and Norrell. I'd be surprised if I read anything else as good this year.
 

The Infinite Blacktop - Sara Gran

63%
04.09.19

This sequel to the equally weird Bohemian Highway manages to be both lyrical and ridiculous, with an extra hit of philosophy (although it's not at all shocking, as promised on the cover). It does make you suspect that this shady, drug-fuelled life is the unglamorous, unspoken context of other private detective novels.

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

41%
30.07.12

Everywhere you look, there are omens, giving you profound and important direction on how to spend your life. If only I had paid attention to them before making disastrous decisions. Take this book, for example. Madonna recommends it. People who don't read much say it's life-changing. It's a poorly translated metaphorical fable about individualistic determinism. The omens are clear as the desert sun - I was never going to like it.