RESERVOIR 13 by Jon McGregor

Reservoir 13 is ostensibly a book about the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl in a rural English village. It is told in an unexpected way, exploring what the author calls "the beauty of the non sequitur".  The book consists of 13 chapters that each cover a single year, starting at the time of the girl's disappearance and ending 13 years later. The chapters start in January and end in December and trace the entire year, "listing" natural and human/social actions in no apparent order. The narration is omniscient and there is a total absence of explanatory information. The technique is reminiscent of the "cut-ups" of William S. Boroughs, but as he experimented with truly random reconstruction to make the narrative, McGregor uses a carefully-crafted technique that only has the appearance of randomness. It's a strangely moving novel of great beauty, a reflection on loss and the passage of time without any philosophizing at all.

For a review of the book by the Guardian, click here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/15/reservoir-13-by-jon-mcgregor-review

THE MILKMAN IN THE NIGHT, by Andrei Kurkov

Written in the tradition of Soviet magical realism, (e.g.,  Bulgakov's classic The Master and Margarita), The Milkman in the Night offers a wacky and sometimes rather incoherent and at times genuinely funny journey through the world of post-Soviet Ukraine, including a sleepwalker who has a nocturnal affair and unknowingly joins a cult, a murder, a taxidermied dead man , and a "killer" cat addicted to anti-fear medication. It is true that characterization is rather flat, but three families are followed as their fates unexpectedly intersect in unpredictable ways. The ending is satisfying if a bit pat. For some reason, lactation is a central theme. Not a masterpiece but good fun and an engaging read.

For a review of the book from Financial Times, click here: https://www.ft.com/content/eb94d60c-b6b3-11e0-ae1f-00144feabdc0