The Ha-Ha, by Dave King (2005)
I was so drawn into this book about a man who can neither talk nor read nor write. I liked reading about the various ways Howard was able to cope: having a boarder live with him free in exchange for handling his paperwork; having cards that explained his condition; etc. Partway through the book, however, I began to question the premise. I understood that he couldn't speak or write--but if he could gesture, couldn't he use sign language? My interest in the story began to wane.
Howard has a selfish boring bitch of a friend named Sylvia, and Sylvia has a 9-year-old son, Ryan. When Sylvia checks herself into rehab, she leaves Ryan with Howard--a seriously stupid idea, but Sylvia, though none too bright, is cannily aware of which people will take her crap and beg for more. The relationship Ryan and Howard form, and the effect it has on Howard's life, is the main focus of the book.
It is a good book, but I would like to point out that the author is male, and therefore you are more likely to run into mentions of ball rearranging and body odor, nicknames such as "Fartin' Martin," and expressions such as "The world takes a shit in your mouth, and you swallow it whole." Revolting.
The Night Watch, by Sarah Waters (2006)
I'd read two of Sarah Waters's other books, Affinity and Fingersmith, and had found them utterly mesmerizing, full of twists and surprises. What a disappointment, then, to be 150 pages into The Night Watch without a single twist or surprise. I nearly put the book aside, but persevered because of those first two books: I'd loved them so much that the sight of a new Sarah Waters book on the shelf had given me a jolt of adrenaline.
After 150 pages, a gimmick is revealed: we are going to go backwards with this plot. So far, we have met characters in 1947. For the next 250 pages, we see what happened before that, in 1944. For the last 45 pages, we see what happened before THAT, in 1941. Pretty good, right? I mean, good secrets revealed and so forth. Not really. I don't want to give away any of the "thrilling twists" (as they're advertised on the book jacket), but it's things of this sort: in 1947, we meet a couple; in 1944 we find out that one of them USED TO DATE SOMEONE ELSE. And in 1941, we find out HOW HE MET THAT OTHER PERSON!!! Meh. Not exactly scintillating. It's as if the book were just a regular book, written on a regular time line, and then someone said, "This is boring. Let's see if we can make it interesting with a LAME GIMMICK!"
A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore (2006)
I loved this silly book. The author is like a U.S. Terry Pratchett. Some of the jokes are self-conscious ("Look, I'm saying something funny!"), but overall the book is funny and interesting and good.
It starts out sad, with the main character unexpectedly losing someone he loves. Soon he discovers (via a picture book entitled The Great Big Book of Death) that he has been recruited to take the souls of other people who die. Complications--including the inevitable battle against the forces of the Underworld--ensue.