Brickandrope Male, 35. USA

Doyle's great strengths are his humor, and his grasp of Dubin's street speak. Both are in great effect here. The book is a collection of eight short stories looking at how Ireland is getting used to the large and sudden influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa. While the language thrills at times, the structure did not work for me at all. The stories are written in very short chapters, to be publishable in serialized version. That makes for a bits-and-pieces story-telling technique that never quite lets us get under the skin of any character. Great concept, disappointing execution.

Probably the definitive history of modern, post-independence India. I don't know anything else quite like this book. Guha has drawn extensively from sources that you might not consider standard Historian material. He looks at old newspaper articles, magazines of the time, private correspondence between historical figures, and many other sources .... something you absolutely have to do, to write a detailed and layered history of a country without the most formal record retention. If you are looking to understand where modern India comes from, you cannot miss this book.

This is a debut novel that announces the arrival of a fresh, original new voice. Aravind Adiga, and his narrator in the book, Balram Halwai, have a voice that is as unique as anything I have heard in a long time. This is a tale set in the dark underbelly of India, exploring the uneasy relationship between the haves and have-nots. Utterly unsentimental, furiously fast paced, manically original. Great stuff!