Light Perpetual

Francis Spufford, Faber & Faber, £16.99

Spufford’s moving novel reads like poetry.

In 1944, a bomb hits Bexford High Street, killing five children but in another timeline, the bomb never lands and Jo, Val, Vern, Alec and Ben live through the rest of the 20th Century.

Their stories are told through snapshots spanning six decades.

Woven with light, this tapestry of life is all about missed opportunities, second chances and unfulfilled potential.

Billy Joel didn’t just write an unforgettable smash-hit with his single We Didn’t Start The Fire. He also created the most fascinating, random and original history of the post-war world - all the people,

Apple Podcasts, Spotify places and events that explain why the world today is as it is. Each episode sees Katie Puckrik and Tom Fordyce examine a new lyric from this one song.a strange but entirely compelling concept.