Paperback: Two Caravans, by Marina Lewycka

As the follow-up to her bestseller A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian, this second novel could have been tricky, but Lewycka has plenty more tricks to pull out of the bag. With a cacophony of spot-on international voices, a plot that drags its motley cast around the more shameful aspects of modern England, a Russian gangster, strawberries and a dog, this warm, funny novel had to be a winner. Immigration with a sense of humour: a breath of fresh air.