Francisco

09.April.2010 | 16:59Joshua Ferris - The Unnamed I loved Then They Came to the End, but this was quite another sort of book. I found it not as well-written, and although you sympathised with the hero and his wife, and it built in emotional power towards the end, I never quite got my head around his distressing conditionj, or found myself able to believe in it. A shame because this is a great writer.

09.April.2010 | 16:57Siri Hustvedt - The Shaking Woman I am a big fan of Siri Hustvedt and I consider What I Loved to be a great work of fiction. This memoir, though, is a very slight piece of work. I found myself strangely unmoved by Hustvedt's neurological problems, agonising though they clearly have been. Ultimately she came across as too self-absorbed. And sad, too.

09.April.2010 | 16:53A Single Man A great film, madly stylish. And what a pleasure to see Colin Firth doing something that stretches him as an actor. The scene with his best friend is beautifully shot, and quite unforgettable. I found it deeply moving.

09.April.2010 | 16:51Ian McEwan - Solar I have liked many but not all of McEwan's books so far. But this is the only one I have truly hated. It isn't funny, though it tries to be. The hero is a prat but there's nothing about him to satirise, excpet the fact that he's greedy and unprincipled: so what? McEwan couldn't write a dud sentence if he tried but the subject of climate change was simply thrown away.

09.April.2010 | 16:48I Love You Phillip Morris I couldn't believe how funny this film was. I am a Carrey fan in any case, but somehow this just seemed to be the perfect role for him. I laughed out loud. It's quite clever the way you don't realise it's a love story until the film opens. I enjoyed its outrageousness too. The only downer came at the end, when you realised it didn't all end well for the real-life hero.

09.April.2010 | 16:43Carsten Jensen - We, The Drowned Wow. This is quite simply one of the most satisfying, exciting, and touching books I've ever read. It's epic in every way. So much so that when I reached the last page I felt quite bereft. I can't recommend this book highly enough. I'm evangelising about it to everyone.