What You Want, or the Pursuit of Happiness by Constantine Phipps (Quercus, £20). This is a deeply eccentric book — a novel entirely in verse set in a theme park that takes in the history of philosophy and the tale of a disintegrating marriage. In a few witty rhyming couplets, my cousin Constantine Phipps can sum up an entire character with all its foibles or a whole system of ethics. And shining through the parade of philosophers, psychiatrists, dead presidents and theme-park attractions is a sense of deep wisdom and reasonableness. Some of the verses, especially towards the end, are truly moving and beautiful.
Joshua Ferris’s To Rise Again at a Decent Hour (Viking, £12.99) is narrated by a misanthropic New York dentist. Paul O’Rourke wishes he didn’t have to dwell on death and the futility of it all, but the endless parade of neglected gums and unflossed teeth makes that difficult.
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