Six

Jim Crace

This is a story about an ageing star set in a dystopian city. Do not let that put you off. This book is so human and shows such a deep understanding of the dilemmas of a modern man's life, that I was absolutely riveted by it. The hero Lix has a life complcated by the women he has loved and the children he has fathered. All of them permanently attached to him in some way.

Extract

Alicia did not allow herself to laugh. Lix's limitations could be wearying, she thought. She'd always thought. She did not like to hear her father so accurately mocked. 'Stay out of it,' she said, in a voice that warned a steely afternoon if Lix did not comply, and felt guilty straight away. When it suited her - she never moved until it suited her - she would apologise. First she had to see her father's back. she formed a tranquil face, leaned out into the street, and listened to his lecture and advice.

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