This is a searing novel set in 1930s America, and the story unfolds in just over 36 hours. It is a book about sex, alcohol, class, and dreamers. Devastating in its conclusion, it completely drew me into the atmosphere and pressure of what it must have been like to alive in America at that time. All details are present—the cocktails, the cars, and in this book most overwhelmingly, the unhappiness.

I had heard about this book for many years before I read it. Ostensibly it is the autobiography of a former alcoholic who chronicles his struggles living rough on the streets of London in a vivid and unique style, but it is more than that. It is the story of determination and rebirth, the tale of a chess champion who overcomes a savage childhood to live again. A powerful book indeed.

It’s always the beautiful simplicity of this story that transports me. Not a word is wasted. For such a short novel, it kind of approaches perfection in storytelling for me. Hemingway apparently said of the novel that it was the “best I can write ever for all of my life.”

One of the most moving books I have read in recent years. It investigates a father’s suspended state of unexpected loss and grief with a gorgeously wry sense of humor. Captivating, poetic, and surprising.

Geoff Dyer is an abundantly talented writer. His books can sometimes defy classification and this one is certainly a case-in-point. It is a book of thrillingly different halves, about middle-age, art and existence. And much more. I devoured it.