I have no idea what to expect from this. I'd never even heard of it before I got given it for Christmas. I now know two things about it; 1) It was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize and 2) It is MASSIVE.

This is a real epic. It deals with the mostly ordinary lives of two families living in Sheffield and the people who they interact with. It really is like reading about actual, normal people going about their business, except it is written in such a way that it somehow holds your attention. Every so often, within the book's 700+ pages, something dramatic or tragic happens. And these events are dealt with in much the same way as the rest of the story. The miners' strike and its impact on northern communities features heavily, but isn't overdone, and the 'action' isn't limited to Sheffield, but moves through London and Australia as well. It's a cleverly told story and the characters were interesting enough to keep me going through to the end, but I can't help wondering whether this could have been just as good and somewhat shorter.

Helping fill a new LFL.