There But For The by Ali Smith

This book is very thought provoking but is also easy to read and excellently written.  It is about a man who locks himself into his host's spare bedroom during a dinner party and refuses to leave for months.  There are a number of different characters who are affected by this decision and the novel describes the impact on their lives.  The language is very clever and often funny and the characters are well drawn.  There is a precocious young girl who the novel starts to focus on about half way through and she, in particular, is very compelling (although a little irritating after a while).   Although this novel does lose its way towards the end, I would recommend it and I very much enjoyed it.