This week’s novels takes us to Zanzibar, Budapest and Renaissance Florence with Nobel Prize-winning English-Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Theft; while guest reviewers Tim Ayliffe reads Laurent Binet’s Perspectives; and Siang Lu reads David Szalay’s Flesh.

BOOKS 

Abdulrazak Gurnah, Theft, Bloomsbury 

Laurent Binet, Perspectives (translated from the French by Sam Taylor), Harvill Secker 

David Szalay, Flesh, Jonathan Cape 

GUESTS

Tim Ayliffe, journalist and crime writer – whose John Bailey series include the books The Enemy Within, Killer Traitor Spy, and The Wrong Man

Siang Lu, writes for film and TV and is also the author of the books Ghost Cities and The Whitewash 

OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDMichael Connelly, works Leon Uris, worksJohn Le Carre, worksStephen King, worksAndrew O'Hagan, Caledonian Road; MayfliesNick Cave and Swan O'Hagan, Faith, Hope and Carnage Sara Foster, When She Was GoneCamille Booker, The Woman in the WavesNatasha Rai, An Onslaught of LightSteve MinOn, First Name Second Name