Andrew O'Connor — Tuvalu

Allen & Unwin 2006 Paperback, 347pp. This brilliant novel explores an unbalanced love story between Noah Tuttle, a disillusioned Australian living in Japan, and the exquisite and crafty Mami Kaketa, who becomes the center of Tuttle's universe. Tuttle lives in a cheap, rundown hostel in the seamier margins of Tokyo. He teaches mediocre English to disinterested students, sleeps with his girlfriend, Tilly, when she's around, drinks beer when he can afford it, and generally avoids other people and their expectations. When Tuttle meets the wealthy, captivating, and completely self-absorbed Kaketa, however, his mundane life changes forever. Their jagged romance provides an alluring story of impossibility as Tuttle drifts between two women, two cultures, and two countries. (ISBN: 9781741148718). Very Good.