See Next Meeting page for details of the next Book Club meeting.
See Current Books for information about the books we are reading this term
The British Council Book Club (Miguel Angel Book Club) has read the following books since it began in 2002. Some books were chosen by Daniel Brint (the club organizer), others were chosen to coincide with the visit of an author and a number were suggested by group members.
Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense novels of recent years.
The End of Everything
by Megan Abbot
"...a fever dream of adolescent desire and adult complicity."
Incendiary
by Chris Cleave
A narrative of personal and public tragedy and the limits of sanity.
City of Thieves
by David Benioff
"A rough and tumble tale that clenches humour, savagery and pathos squarely together on the same page"
A Fatal Inversion
by Barbara Vine
The utopian countryside setting in the long summer of 1976 hides events that scar a group of young people.
Juliet Naked
by Nick Hornby
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things
by Jon McGregor
The Memory of Running
by Ron McLarty
A bicycle ride across the USA is also a journey through memory and loss towards reconciliation.
Dark Matter
by Michelle Paver
The dark nights of Spitzbergen form the backdrop to this ghostly tale of a scientific exploration that encounters more than weather conditions.
A Change of Altitude
by Anita Shreeve
Set in Kenya in the 1970's, marriage and mountains are the challenges that occupy the lives of 2 ex-pat couples.
Snow Falling on Cedars
by David Gutterson
A love story set against the background of island life in a north west American fishing community before and after the 2nd World War.
Mr Rosenblum’s Listby Natasha Solomons
In attempting to become a perfect Englishman, Jack Rosenblum attempts to build a golf course after discovering that a Jew is not welcome to this last bastion of Englishness.
The Distance Between Usby Maggie O’Farrell
Two narratives become one as complete strangers are brought together by chance, family and a search for their pasts.
Being DeadBy Jim Crace
A profound mediation on mortality, nature and the savage beauty of being.
Noah’s Compassby Anne Tyler
A typically subtle Tyler novel about remembering, forgetting and the endearing complexities of family.
One Dayby David Nicholls
St. Swithin’s day is the annual point of reflection on the relationship and changing fortunes of the two protogonists.
The Uncommon Readerby Alan Bennett
The Queen becomes an avid and knowledgeable reader of literature – and it changes her life as books open doors to experience.
Ordinary Thunderstormsby William Boyd
London shows a different side as the protagonist goes on the run and tries to disappear from view in order to survive and solve a murder.
Remarkable Creaturesby Tracy Chevalier
Early fossil collecting and an unlikely friendship form the background to this endearing novel.
Deaf Sentenceby David Lodge
At times funny, at times heart-breaking – themes including deafness, aging and hope are combined to form an exceptional narrative
In attempting to become a perfect Englishman, Jack Rosenblum attempts to build a golf course after discovering that a Jew is not welcome to this last bastion of Englishness.
The Distance Between Usby Maggie O’Farrell
Two narratives become one as complete strangers are brought together by chance, family and a search for their pasts.
Being DeadBy Jim Crace
A profound mediation on mortality, nature and the savage beauty of being.
Noah’s Compassby Anne Tyler
A typically subtle Tyler novel about remembering, forgetting and the endearing complexities of family.
One Dayby David Nicholls
St. Swithin’s day is the annual point of reflection on the relationship and changing fortunes of the two protogonists.
The Uncommon Readerby Alan Bennett
The Queen becomes an avid and knowledgeable reader of literature – and it changes her life as books open doors to experience.
Ordinary Thunderstormsby William Boyd
London shows a different side as the protagonist goes on the run and tries to disappear from view in order to survive and solve a murder.
Early fossil collecting and an unlikely friendship form the background to this endearing novel.
Deaf Sentenceby David Lodge
At times funny, at times heart-breaking – themes including deafness, aging and hope are combined to form an exceptional narrative
A Partisan’s Daughterby Louis Bernierés
How can we tell the difference between the truth and the invented? The art of story-telling explored through an unlikely yet moving romance.
We Need to talk about Kevinby Lionel Shriver
One of the most disturbing books ever written about parents and children.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseBy Jonathan Saffron Foer
Part poem, part historical journey and a narrative that grows to a crescendo as we are taken on a haunting journey through New York and the minds of the characters.
How can we tell the difference between the truth and the invented? The art of story-telling explored through an unlikely yet moving romance.
We Need to talk about Kevinby Lionel Shriver
One of the most disturbing books ever written about parents and children.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseBy Jonathan Saffron Foer
Part poem, part historical journey and a narrative that grows to a crescendo as we are taken on a haunting journey through New York and the minds of the characters.
Tulip Fever
by Deborah Moggach
by Deborah Moggach
Set during the period of absurd financial speculation in Holland called "Tulipomania" the novel is a timely reminder of the consequences of greed.
A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian
by Marina Lewycka
An excellent first novel about family, natonality and the follies of age.
by Marina Lewycka
An excellent first novel about family, natonality and the follies of age.
Spies
by Michael Frayn
Wartime Britain and two boys from different sides of the tracks play games that turn into something that will shape their lives and the lives of those around them forever.
Wartime Britain and two boys from different sides of the tracks play games that turn into something that will shape their lives and the lives of those around them forever.
The Devil's Feather
by Minette Walters
Walter's combination of complex plot and highly disturbing psychological insight characterises this powerful novel.
Walter's combination of complex plot and highly disturbing psychological insight characterises this powerful novel.
The Pesthouse
by Jim Crace
A future, dystopian America is the setting for this vivid novel in which a couple travel together in search of the Old World.
by Jim Crace
A future, dystopian America is the setting for this vivid novel in which a couple travel together in search of the Old World.
When We Were Orphans
Never Let Me GoBy Kazuo Ishiguro
Two haunting novels by the Booker Prize winner who has been praised for “extending the possibilities of fiction.”
Never Let Me GoBy Kazuo Ishiguro
Two haunting novels by the Booker Prize winner who has been praised for “extending the possibilities of fiction.”
The Way I Found Her
The ColourBy Rose Tremain
A novelist who combines psychological and historical analysis in prose of astonishing elegance.
The ColourBy Rose Tremain
A novelist who combines psychological and historical analysis in prose of astonishing elegance.
King Solomon’s Carpet
The Brimstone WeddingBy Barbara Vine
Barbara Vine’s novels possess a “near-Victorian narrative drive…that compels a reader to go on turning the pages.
The House of Sleep
The Rotter’s Club
The Closed CircleBy Jonathan Coe
Coe’s writing has been described as having “energy, tenderness, social commitment, all in a style that comes like breath…one of the very best contemporary British novelists.
New Writing 12
New Writing 13
New Writing 14
New Writing 15Anthologies of original work by new and established writers, published by Picador in association with the Arts Council of England and the British Council
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Life isn’t all Ha Ha Hee Hee by Meera Syal.
Wit, tenderness and wisdom ooze from Syal’s tale of love, friendship and betrayal in London’s Indian community.
The Siege by Helen Dunmore
Poet, short story writer and novelist Helen Dunmore writes about the fight for survival in wartime Leningrad, a powerful historical novel.
Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey
A young and talented novelist explores relationships in a surreal and evocative setting of an old house.
The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
The best-selling novel dealing with Asberger’s syndrome.
Vivaldi and The Number 3 by Ron Butlin*
Short pieces (mainly) based on composers, this fascinating collection explains why Butlin has been described as “a successor to Kafka or Borges.”
Baumgartner’s Bombay by Anita Desai.*
“Anita Desai writes beautifully, employing an opulent vocabulary to great effect in her physical descriptions…The achievement of a superior writer.
In Pieces by Nick Hopton*
An engaging tale of football, friendship and terrorism by a debut novelist.
Transmission by Hari Kunzru*
A novel described by one reviewer as “Delectable, sweeping, empire-savaging, audaciously playful.” Kunzru’s wit and intelligence are impressive.
Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller*
Excellent, an undercurrent of subtle malice, a study of obsession and loneliness.
Port Mungo
AsylumBy Patrick McGrath*
Dark, disturbing and riveting – McGrath “traces the landscape of disequilibrium where loyalties are twisted and turned.”
Pigtopia by Kitty Fitzgerald*
A moving study of “outsiderness” and teenage alienation – a linguistic masterpiece.
The People’s Act of Love by James Meek
Though set in the past, it feels like the most contemporary novel you’ll ever read – a truly great novel.
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
An ingeniously plotted novel, full of suspense and heartbreaks.
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
Enthralling examinations of four people’s anguish – a work of precision and comic brilliance.
A Wave Theory of AngelsA disturbing, elegant novel that brings together various strands of thought – from medieval art and philosophy to quantum physics and asks some challenging questions of the reader.
Absolute Friends
by John Le Carré
Mundy (whose cover is that of a British Council arts officer) is le Carré’s greatest spy character since Smiley. He witnesses the hypocrisy, violence and disregard for truth that defines American and British foreign policy in this brilliant book.
Gentlemen and Players
by Joanne Harris
The English class system and the attraction of poetic revenge are at the centre of this surprising novel.
*The Pure Land by Alan Spence
A novel based on the true story of a larger than life Scottish businessman and his love affair with Japan.
In the Country of Men
by Hishram Matar
This acclaimed first novel by Matar takes place in Libya under the shadow of political repression, a world or fear and secrecy seen through the eyes of a young boy.
The Landscape of Love
Mundy (whose cover is that of a British Council arts officer) is le Carré’s greatest spy character since Smiley. He witnesses the hypocrisy, violence and disregard for truth that defines American and British foreign policy in this brilliant book.
Gentlemen and Players
by Joanne Harris
The English class system and the attraction of poetic revenge are at the centre of this surprising novel.
*The Pure Land by Alan Spence
A novel based on the true story of a larger than life Scottish businessman and his love affair with Japan.
In the Country of Men
by Hishram Matar
This acclaimed first novel by Matar takes place in Libya under the shadow of political repression, a world or fear and secrecy seen through the eyes of a young boy.
The Landscape of Love
by Sally Beaumann.
“Gorgeously wrought…a masterly rendering of fragile states of consciousness. A haunting and absorbing mystery.”
On Chesil Beach
“Gorgeously wrought…a masterly rendering of fragile states of consciousness. A haunting and absorbing mystery.”
On Chesil Beach
by Ian McEwan
McEwan’s powerful book is a masterpiece of economy and precision as it dissects the causes and consequences of life-changing decisions.
The Olive Readers
McEwan’s powerful book is a masterpiece of economy and precision as it dissects the causes and consequences of life-changing decisions.
The Olive Readers
by Christine Aziz
A competition-winning, futuristic first novel.
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
A competition-winning, futuristic first novel.
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
by Maggie O’Farrell
An enthralling tale that crosses generations as a young woman discovers she has an elderly aunt who has spent her life in a psychiatric institution, and whose strange past reveals dark family secrets.
Remainder
An enthralling tale that crosses generations as a young woman discovers she has an elderly aunt who has spent her life in a psychiatric institution, and whose strange past reveals dark family secrets.
Remainder
by Tom McCarthy*
A study of memory and obsession. “A refreshingly idiosyncratic, enjoyable intelligent read by a writer with ideas and talent.”
Afterwards
A study of memory and obsession. “A refreshingly idiosyncratic, enjoyable intelligent read by a writer with ideas and talent.”
Afterwards
by Rachel Seifert
“A novel about invisible borders – the hard-held Irish border, the border between lovers, between generations, between past and present.”
“A novel about invisible borders – the hard-held Irish border, the border between lovers, between generations, between past and present.”
Alentejo Blue
by Monica Ali.
Set in rural Portugal, Monica Ali’s cast of locals and foreigners inhabit interior landscapes that project themselves on a shared reality.
Start From Here
Set in rural Portugal, Monica Ali’s cast of locals and foreigners inhabit interior landscapes that project themselves on a shared reality.
Start From Here
by Sean French.
A dark social comedy set in contemporary Britain.
A dark social comedy set in contemporary Britain.
The Rain Before it Falls
by Jonathan Coe.
A great novel about memory, loss and love.
A great novel about memory, loss and love.
One Good Turn
by Kate Atkinson.
The third of Atkinson’s series with an unusual detective/protagonist. Evokes the atmosphere of Edinburgh during the festival.
The Road Home
by Rose Tremain.
Present-day immigration and the search for a better life in the prosperous west form the setting of this thoughtful and powerful novel.
The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold.
Sebold’s highly original novel surprises – delights or infuriates readers with its deceased narrator’s account of her short life and the consequences of her violent death.
My Revolutions
My Revolutions
by Hari Kunzru.
Urgent contemporary themes of idealism and terrorism and loyalty are the subject of Kunzru’s powerful novel as it moves between the 1970’s and the present.
Digging to America
Digging to America
by Anne Tyler.
Two families adopt Korean girls at the same time. They are drawn together and share parts of their lives. The experience of being a foreigner has rarely been explored with greater subtlety.
The Secret River
The Secret River
by Kate Greville.
A moving account of a young family adapting to life as part of Australia’s penal colony and the impact of colonialism.
Notes From An Exhibition
Notes From An Exhibition
by Patrick Gale.
Artistic genius, insanity, secrets and the enduring strength of family are the themes of Gale’s intriguing novel.
Then We Came to the End
by Joshua Ferris.
Brilliant satire based on an advertising agency during an economic crash.
