Warlight

Michael Ondaatje Jonathan Cape €15.99 Ondaatje’s first novel in seven years mesmerises from start to finish. Its title derives from the dim light permitted in blackout London during the Blitz, but it captures perfectly the atmospheric murk that shrouds this haunting tale. In the war’s aftermath, 14-year-old Nathaniel and his older sister are left in the care of their parents’ lodger, ‘The Moth’, who fills their home with colourful petty crooks and arcane experts, all of whom will be revealed as having played vital roles in wartime intelligence – alongside Nathaniel’s mother. A violent event pivots the narrative into thriller territory, simultaneously revealing an intricate puzzle of a love story.

Hephzibah Anderson