So I Am Glad, by A.L. Kennedy (Vintage, £5.99 in UK)

Jennifer, the sharp, intelligent, vulnerable and self protecting narrator, announces I hate secrets. No, that's a lie, and here I was hoping to tell you the truth. Start again." Currently living in a state of, emotional apathy, Jennifer, in keeping with her job as a radio announcer, has become her voice. Reciting other people's words means that tone has become more important to her than language. Into her self contained world wanders the disturbed and disturbing Martin, who may be the 17th century alchemist/writer/ adventurer he claims he is. Strange and moving, Kennedy's crafted, disciplined and passionate tale explores the dangerous no man's land between thought and feeling. Few writers have examined the terrifying emptiness of a half life with such rigorous sensitivity.