Did you finish yet? I know it's early in the month, but it's a very slim book. And next month's is a fatty, so let's get this one over with.
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel is about a writer who talks to another writer about some writing he has written. You can't get much more self-referential than that. It deals with the Holocaust via symbolism and metaphor. A lot of it is a fable about a donkey and a monkey who sit and talk in long-winded allegory, like a Beckett play.
I enjoyed reading it, but I preferred his previous book - Life of Pi. This one seemed too contrived to me. I think I only got to the end of it because it is so short.
If you have no intention of reading this book or you don't care about spoilers, here is a fantastic drawing of the final scene.
Next month we will be reading Seeing Things by the lovely Oliver Postgate.
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