We believe in angels

Among the more neglected victims of the recession have been the authors of misery memoirs — or ‘mis-mems’ as they’re rather heartlessly known in the trade. As if these people hadn’t suffered enough at the hands of their drunken, violent and/or abusive families, the credit crunch brought more bad news. The books sections of supermarkets began to think that misery was something we could now get for ourselves without the help of reading. What they’d offer instead was a bit of comfort: a belief that, despite appearances to the contrary, we’re surrounded by powerful forces with our best interests at heart. In other words, the way was open for the return of angels.

The big angel book of 2010 looks set to be Angelology by Danielle Trussoni, a much-hyped thriller from Penguin, due to be published in April, based on the age-old struggle between human beings and the Nephilim, those pesky descendants of the fallen angels — and complete with a cover-up by the Catholic Church.