Fool

How it reads

Fool is literary fiction (historical comedy, specifically), and its dominant mood is funny. The humour is the point, not garnish. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in a small town setting, in the historical past, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are identity, power and politics and secrets. In weight it's light and escapist — easy to fall into.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 311 pages it's a quick read. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.