for me the magical folktale nature of the beautiful and original series of stories and characters so grounded in the apocalyptic nature of Late Capitalism, with saviour from the birds that is Philomena van Rijswijk's wonderful opus House of the Flight Helpers. Do read it, not as a conventionally structured novel, but almost circular: as soon as I finished it I wanted to start again, savouring so much about it. It is also a beautifully produced book from Tartarus Press and with Ann Morgan, I believe it should win the Booker for its profound originality - it's no-one's but her own -and so beautifully crafted..
