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Tim O'Brien

73. John Lancaster - Capital


Pretty long, 10 days to read although it is January, and we have D+Z back from Australia. Plus, lots of snow (which hasn't interrupted reading), snooker on the TV (which has), plus of course tax returns.

I am not sure about this book. It is about a street in London before the financial crash, the rich and poor (mainly rich) who live there, and the immigrants.

One of my problems is that there is very little interaction between the characters, indeed hardly any dialogue in the book at all. Most chapters are interior monologues.

The plot is a bit silly - 600 pages to discover that the event that largely unifies the street is a mischievous prank by a minor character with no real consequences even for him.

Readable but not a great or even terribly good novel. Back to Sjowall and Wahloo for the final Martin Beck.


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