Maria Leuycha: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian

Easy reading and very funny

Rohinton Mistry: A Fine Balance

Probably the all-time favourite. Depicts life in modern India. Epic in scale, though its characters are ordinary people. Poignant and often surprisingly funny.

John Boyne: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Any comment might spoil the point. Read it!

Lionel Schriver: We Need to Talk about Kevin

Thought-provoking though not totally satisfying Examines the issue of school massacres in America through the eyes of a killer’s mother,

Kiran Desai: The Inheritance of Loss

Won the Booker prize. Poetic. A bit vague.

Ben Elton: The First Casualty

A good read, with plenty of action. Set in the First World War. The plot is improbable but the background is good.

Andrea Levy: Small Island

The first book we read. Much enjoyed. A story of West Indian immigrants trying to fit in to England in the 1950s

Opinions were divided about this one. A one-issue book about the ethics of creating a sibling to save the life of a sick child. Thought-provoking but some of us felt it didn’t work as a novel.

Salley Vickers: Miss Garnett’s Angel

Set in Venice. Much enjoyed.

Margaret Forster: Good Wives?

Non-fiction. An exploration of four marriages, illustrating the way in which attitudes to the woman’s role have changed