she recommends:
- My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent. "This is an amazing debut. Difficult subject, but wonderful writing."
- Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. "I read Home a while ago, and didn't love it, but picked this up on a recommendation, and wow! It was the penultimate book I read in 2017, and still made it into my top three."
- Good Behaviour by Molly Keane. "Another oldie, reminiscent of Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift, and a lot of William Trevor novels."
- Dadland by Keggie Carew. "This won the Costa Biography Prize in 2016. I was lucky enough to hear Keggie speak at a festival in France. I have to admit I didn't expect to love this as much as I did, but it made me laugh and it made me cry."
- Life Drawing by Robin Black. "This had sat on my shelves for a while, and I finally picked it up this year, and loved it."
- The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor. "I read all of Trevor's short stories this year, and two of his novels. This is the book that came out of top."
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. "When I signed copies of Swimming Lessons in New York in February, in nearly every bookshop Saunders has just been in before me, signing his. This won the Man Booker Prize this year, and deservedly so."
- Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. "Olive Kitteridge made my top ten books last year, and this was every bit as good."
- The Lonely City by Olivia Laing. "I also read To the River by Laing this year, and it was a close thing between that and this book."
- The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst. "I haven't read a dud Hollinghurst yet, I loved this."
Oh so many books and so little time!