Book Eighty Two 2014:

To Rise Again At A Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris

I’m still not sure what to make of this one although I should start by saying it’s very much in the category of book I enjoyed this year and would recommend to others.

It’s the increasingly surreal story of a slightly unhappy, slightly depressed but successful New York dentist who, one day, finds out that someone has created a website for his practise that he hasn’t sanctioned. So far so slightly weird until he starts attempting to get it taken down (he doesn’t like the internet) and bizarre biblical quotes start to appear on his personal profile on the site. Things get only more surreal from there and lead through his past love affairs, the ins and outs (pun intended) of dentistry and the possible existence of a missing sect of people from the bible.

No, seriously.

Weird, insightful into the human condition (well, mine anyway), part Basil Fawlty, part Catch 22, even reminiscent of Dostoevsky’s The Double at times and full of beautiful turns of phrase it’s well worth your time.