Dive into the best novels to give this Christmas: From futuristic fantasy, contemporary and literary to nail-biting thrillers, our critics have it covered To buy copies of any of the below books visit The Mail Bookshop By DAILY MAIL FICTION REVIEWERS Published: 19:01 EST, 28 November 2024 | Updated: 19:01 EST, 28 November 2024 e-mail View comments Literary Fiction Claire Allfree Enlightenment by Sarah Perry (Jonathan Cape £20, 400pp) James is available now from the Mail Bookshop It missed out on the Booker but Sarah Perry’s juicy ghostly fourth novel is still a treat. Set in the same fictional Essex town of Aldleigh as The Essex Serpent, it seems to contain the mysteries of the cosmos in its story of a lonely bachelor obsessed in 1997 with the Hale-Bopp comet. As rich and satisfying as any plum pudding.
James by Percival Everett (Mantle £20, 320pp) Spare a thought for Percival Everett, denied this year’s Booker prize by the undeniably worthy Orbital, by Samantha Harvey , but who in this audacious rewrite of Huckleberry Finn has produced one of the novels of the year. It’s told from the point of view of Jim, Huck’s runaway slave buddy, and is both true to the original and turns it entirely on its head. Crackling with insight and wit.
Silverback by Phil Harrison (Fleet £18.99, 192pp) This quietly excellent novel about the psychological impact of the Troubles for a generation of Belfast men has been rather overlooked. The story of an unusual friendship between a respe.