Landed: A Novel
Tim Pears
Windmill Books, £7.99
Farmed out to his Welsh grandparents while his parents' marriage falls apart, Owen Wood grows to love the outdoor life in an attempt to earn the approval of his dour grandfather. A freak accident causes the adult Owen to lose a hand, his job as a gardener, his family and – perhaps? – his sanity. When his estranged wife plans to emigrate to Canada with their children, Owen takes desperate action. Deftly, Tim Pears juggles some major themes – alcoholism, dysfunction, alienation – as well as a dazzling range of stylistic devices in this picaresque tale for the 21st century. The book opens with a series of documents and photographs that recreate the circumstances of Owen's road accident. Psychiatric reports, an essay on phantom-limb pain, Owen's disjointed diary – all are woven into the mix. But Landed is a game of two halves, the second taking a trip into dream. Or is it nightmare? Whatever it is, it's brilliant. Arminta Wallace
On Canaan’s Side
Sebastian Barry
Faber and Faber, £6.99
"What is the sound of an 89-year-old heart breaking?" narrator Lilly Bere asks at the start of Sebastian Barry's novel, which then proceeds to demonstrate the answer in verbal music of great delicacy and power. As in his previous novel, the incomparably poignant The Secret Scripture, his protagonist is an old woman looking back on a life that has been hounded by history. This time the canvas is larger, from Ireland in the Civil War to Vietnam and the Gulf War of the 1990s, and the shockwaves of conflict spread further, though there is also, perhaps, a lessening of intensity. The lucid resignation in the voice of the Long Island-based Lilly is clear right away as she makes a final tally of her losses – her roots, her brother, husbands, grandson – but still there are surprises in store. Once again Barry brings all his craft to bear on the historical theme that obsesses him, resulting in another elegaic work that manages to be more uplifting than its events should allow. Giles Newington
India: The Road Ahead
Mark Tully
Rider Books, £8.99
India is widely expected to be an economic superpower by 2050, but it still suffers pervasive extremes of poverty. Mark Tully, former BBC chief in New Delhi, provides an extremely well-informed and personal exploration of why the extraordinary advances in India's fortunes are not advancing those of its ordinary masses at the same rate. Tully travels all over India, examining problems relating to caste, secularism, farming, dying languages and dying tigers, with the many friends and contacts he has made in a long career. The overwhelming problem identified in these 10 essays is that of endemic corruption. With no real connection between the government and the remote communities that most Indians live in, plans rarely come to fruition, funds are skimmed, and there is seldom any accountability. But despite all the problems he highlights, Tully sees some grounds for optimism. Colm Farren
