Two new favourites

So, Will recently lent me a bunch of books, in his infinite kindness. I've got to say, that two of them are amongst my favourite books of all time (and yes, I'm including the Guitar Hero manual there).

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

A beautiful, funny and most importantly, believable tale of the lives of two young Jews in America, starting with World War II and moving on to the rest of their lives. Unlike many great books of this sort, which focus on the War and its consequences, this book manages to shift the focus over to escapism (of the literal, and metaphorical sorts) and comics, of all things, whilst retaining its very serious air. It's a wonderful story, with characters that'll become close to you than your own family, and superb prose.

We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shrivel

Written as a series of letters, from a wife to her estranged husband, the prose has an interesting and very seductive tone right from the start. The common failing of a book, where you feel you're standing on the outside looking in is thrown away, with every word sounding like it's directed straight at you. The story focuses on their interesting son, recently convicted of mass murder in a school shooting - I won't spoil any more than that but I highly, highly recommend you give it a read.

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So, if you know someone who's into literature, then there's a couple of good Christmas ideas for you. I'm currently reading the hilariously tongue-in-cheek Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh, which I got from a set of 10 books from The Book People for something like £10. Disgracefully cheap and superb quality, with great service. Go to it kids.