FICTIONTHE BROOKLYN FOLLIESPAUL AUSTERAmerica’s writer- in-waiting for the Nobel Prize exam- ines the idea of refuge in the country’s psyche. Set against the backdrop of the US elections of 2000, it tells the story of Nathan andTom, an uncle andnephewdouble-act.Onesuffering from lung cancer, divorced, and es- tranged from his only daughter, the other hiding away from his once- promising academic career, and life.BLACK SWAN GREENDAVID MITCHELLThis is the novel of 2006.You can safely place your bet on this one to sweep the nominations of various literary prizes. Speech problems, silences and child- hood rituals convey the social history of the Britain of the 1980s. Mitchell fol- lows up his magnificent Cloud Atlas with a poignant tale of a talented but shy adolescent and a searing critique ofThatcherite economics.EVERYMANPHILIP ROTHAmerica’s greatest living writer returns to the concerns of a lifetime of interro- gating the country’s history to tell of a man’s losses to age and decay, and the realisation that he did not want to be what he has become. Everyman takes its title from an anonymous 15th cen- tury allegorical play, a classic of early English drama, whose theme is the summoning of the living to death.GOD’S LITTLE SOLDIERKIRAN NAGARKARFundamentalism and liberalism collide in the Marathi writer’s English novel. A book within a book, it tells us about Zia Khan, who is god’s little soldier—a terror- ist. No matter what garb he dons, or the faith to which he subscribes, Zia believes he is the chosen one, destined to save the world.THE SECRET SUPPERJAVIER SIERRAYou read that book about DaVinciandThe Last Supper, right? Read onemorenow,by this bestselling Span- ish author. Why? Be- cause the year is 1497, Da Vinci is one of the characters, the secrets hidden in the painting are different, and there’s again a murderer on the loose.RED IRWIN ALLAN SEALYMatisse, Dehradun, the Net are mag- nificently harnessed in this touching novel about the ways in which we ex- pressourcreativity. InStPetersburgfor a music festival, Zach encounters the red-headed Aline in the Matisse Room at the Hermitage and is instantly be- witched. The chase that follows leads to India.NON-FICTIONTHE GOSPEL OF JUDAS THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETYHere is a gospel that had not been seen since the early days of Christianity, and which few experts had even thought existed—a gospel told from the per-spective of Judas Iscariot, history’s ultimate traitor. And far from being a villain, the Judas that emerges in its pages is a hero. In this radical reinterpretation, Jesus asks Judas to betray him. In contrast to the New Testament Gospels, Judas Iscariot is presented as a role model for all those who wish to be disciples of Jesus. He is the one apostle who truly understands Jesus.THE CLOUDSPOTTER’S GUIDEGAVIN PRETOR-PINNEYA surprise bestseller of 2006, grab this book this rainy season, gain a hobby and learn to tell the differ-ences between one cloud and another. The author treats the reader to mini-essays on clouds in Christ-ian iconography, in Greek drama and in Hinduism; on their impact on historic bat-tles; on the development of the cloud harp; on the Chinese chemist who makes short-term earthquake predictions based on the appearance of certain types of clouds. Unadulterated fun.THE TREES OF DELHIPRADIP KRISHENDid you know there is a Canary Island date palm tree on the Indian Women Press Corps lawns at 5 Windsor Place? A native of Canary Islands and the only one of its kind in Delhi, this tree is generally found in the posh avenues of Mediterranean towns like Cannes. Information like this and much more can be found in this colourful profile of Delhi’s much-ignored trees. Thoroughly enjoyable, and it doesn’t matter which city you live in.OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONESTEVE WAUGHWaugh provides an insight into his relationships with his colleagues, not least his twin brother and Test teammate, Mark Waugh, and offers frank and perceptive portraits of many of the people who shared his adventures. While his admira-tion for men such as Allan Border, Shane Warne and John Buchanan is huge, his rela-tionship with them was not always rosy.THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION KAREN ARMSTRONGBetween 800 and 300 BC, the peoples of four distinct regions of the civilised world created the religious and philosophical traditions that have continued into the present day: Confucianism and Daoism in China; Hinduism and Buddhism in India; monotheism in Israel; and philo-sophical rationalism in Greece. Historians call this the Axial Age. Armstrong traces the rise and development of this transfor-mative era in history.CRIMETHE LIGHTHOUSE P.D. JAMESAgatha Christie’s worthy successor remains in top form. This time, Scotland Yard’s Commander Adam Dalgleish is faced with a murder on an island 12 miles off the coast of Cornwall, and a small group of suspects, “each intelligent and prudent enough to keep his or her counsel and resist the fateful impulse to volunteer more than was asked”, a situation that “could complicate any investigation and bedevil the prosecution”.THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY DONNA LEONA body is found in front of a glass furnace that burns at 1,400 degrees Celsius. The vic-tim has left clues in a copy of Dante. Com-missario Guido Brunetti must now enter an inferno to discover who is burning the land and fouling the waters of Venice’s lagoon.BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESSALEXANDER MCCALL SMITHMma Precious Ramotswe’s back with end-less cups of bush tea, and an alarming prospect: A weight-loss programme. And strange things are afoot. A cook suspects her boss is feeding her husband food meant for students; there is an odd atmosphere at a game park; and a nurse who sees a doctor make mistakes in reading blood pressure. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency to the rescue!13 STEPS DOWNRUTH RENDELLThe Guardian has called it “a profoundly unnerving psychological suspense novel about a young man gripped by obsessions that can lead only to madness and murder”. From the master explorer of the criminal mind comes this thriller about an extraordinarily incompetent psycopath-in- training stalking a fashion model.THE HARD WAY LEE CHILDThe 10th outing for Child’s 6-foot-5 former military police officer Reacher. He has to find the kidnapped wife of a man who runs a shady band of mercenaries that make their money meddling in other countries’ affairs around the world. If you’ve met Reacher before, we needn’t explain the pleasures of following around this potent combination of steely brawn and sublime mind. If you haven’t, it’s time you did.
