DREAM SEQUENCE

by Adam

Foulds, Jonathan Cape, £14.99. Available January 31

★★★ ★★

ACTOR Henry Banks is prepared to do all it takes to get the perfect next role, even if it means starving himself. But he doesn’t realise he is already starring as male lead in the life of a stranger, Kristin, a divorced American vulnerable to the thrall of celebrity obsession.

It was difficult to invest emotionally in the characters; neither are particularly likeable, but their inevitable meeting gives the narrative a strong forward thrust that keeps the reader committed.