Swimming Home

From October 2012

I've bought all six novels shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize but so far I've only managed to read one. Since Hilary Mantel's & Will Self's efforts account for almost 1,000 pages between them I doubt I'll manage all six before the winner is announced on 16th October.

But the one that I have read - Swimming Home by Deborah Levy - is brilliant and I'll stick my neck out to say that it deserves to win. On one level it's a pretty simple story of a family holiday in France interrupted by the arrival of a stranger and it captures perfectly the atmosphere of many happy vacances that I have spent at Chateau du Bussas. But there is also a dream like quality to Levy's writing and it's fairly obvious from the off that the holiday won't be remembered for the weather alone.

It reminded me of The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden and The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis. There's even an element of Muriel Spark's The Driver's Seat. All this and more in 157 pages!

Paddy Power are offering odds of 5/1 against - that's got be worth a un poney or maybe even un singe.