Time’s Arrow – Martin Amis

A stupendous book. I loved London Fields, and who could forget the subtle plot development of Invasion of the Space Invaders? The reverse-chronology idea is stunningly effective and enables Amis to peel away the onion of emotions generated by the Holocaust in a surpisingly sensitive way. Probably now my favourite Amis.

The Pigeon – Patrick Suesskind

The street diarrhoea scene will linger, I suspect, forever.