The Blue Book, By AL Kennedy

When we first meet Beth, she's about to embark on a transatlantic liner in the company of her boring boyfriend, Derek.

Over the course of the voyage it emerges that Beth is on the rebound from a past relationship with a man called Arthur Lockwood, an ersatz medium who deceived the recently bereaved.

A stylistically experimental writer, Kennedy reveals the inner workings of those who peddle stories for a living, novelists and con-men included.

It may take a while to find your land-legs after reading Kennedy, but the trip will have been well worth while.