A Grave Man?

The sense of humour that I have come to associate with Alan Glynn's novels continues to be a major attraction in his latest work "Graveland". Even though I never tend to read political thrillers or crime fiction, this book is both interesting and intelligently written. A Google search for the author's name will give links to a recent interview and he is also to be found on Twitter.

Having worked as a journalist I find "Graveland" insightful on the subject of changing technologies and the impact they are having on print journalism. But this is not an abstract thesis. The characters are engaging, the plot easy to follow, which was not the case in the last book "Bloodland". I read that book twice and became convinced that there is a gene in the double helix specifically linked to being able to follow a plot and that in my case it was missing. However, a good test of a good book? It bore re-reading and was actually more enjoyable the second time round.

Anybody interested in New York and the linguistic and cultural aspects of that city will find plenty to think about as Mr Glynn has a fine command of American turns of phrase. "Graveland" would be a good choice for anybody studying English as a foreign language.