As we approach the end of 2024, Finlay McIlwraith lays out his five favourite books published so far this year.

Caledonian Road - Andrew O’ Hagan 

This was a book so thought-provoking and challenging that upon putting it down, I felt compelled to write about it. Carried away, this took hours on end; but it might be best that 4000 words never sees the light of day! In depicting such a broad set of people - seriously, the character list is hundreds long - O’Hagan lays bare the breathtaking divides and inequalities that characterise London. This novel is not dour-faced; the depictions of egotistical actor Jake and the strained morality of Campbell make for great comedy. Yet O’Hagan also scratches beyond caricatures to find humanity at the core of all of us. Be warned: Caledonian Road will make you very angry about the current state of the world.

Playground - Richard Powers

It would be a Herculean task to find anyone who can blend the voice and needs of our planets with a fascinating human narrative as effortlessly as Powers. Playground includes topics as varied as oceans, neo-colonialism, social media, ‘tech bros’, race, culture wars and Artificial Intelligence, but somehow brings the same warmth and humanity to each of these controversial themes. I can't think of another book that's shifted so many of my assumptions and opinions. Powers does this not by showing off, but by convincing us of the need and joy in constant learning and discovery. A surprise ending will make you re-evaluate the whole book anew.

Enter Ghost by Isabella Haddad

My favourite way of understanding a place is reading novels set there, and in the past year nowhere has felt more important to understand than Palestine. Much of what I read, such as Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa, felt too documentary-like, driving at a political point without digging into the collective psyche of the land. That changed with Enter Ghost. The book follows British citizen, Sonia, exploring her suppressed memories and the complex identity of Palestinians living in Israel, the West Bank, and abroad. Sonia struggles with her perceived lack of suffering in comparison to many of those she acts with, in an Arabic production of Hamlet. This book's beautiful methodic nature reaches beyond easy answers, to explore the culture, family ties, and unique anxieties of Palestine.

Our Evenings - Alan Hollinghurst 

A novel filled with nothing; significant nothings. Crucial things are left unsaid, assumed or ignored. Starting in the 1960s, this coming-of-age novel follows half-Burmese David, as he struggles to fit into a changing Britain while coming to terms with his sexuality. I often find myself tired of the frequent literary depictions of grand, decaying country houses and their inhabitants, but not here. Hollinghurst shows how every character is in some ways an interloper and outsider. The characters leave their mark long after the page is closed.

This Strange Eventful History- Claire Messud 

I suppose all of the novels listed so-far could be described as political, but each of them has something extra. This book centres on immigration, war, and separation across Algeria, France, and beyond. The descriptions and dialogue in The Strange Eventful History are so beautifully rendered that the reader can find themselves in a dream-like trance before being pulled back into the horrors of the world, comparable with the early works of Ian Banks. Messud has rightly received critical acclaim for daring to create her own unique tone and atmosphere.

Published 4 November 2024