Heliopolis by James Scudamore.

 

James Scudamore is no stranger to critical acclaim– his debut, The Amnesia Clinic, won him the Somerset Maugham Award in 2007. It won't be surprising if his second novel, Heliopolis, goes on to achieve greater success: it is already longlisted for the Man Booker prize. Don't be put off by the laden mantelpiece – the most surprising feature of Heliopolis for newcomers to Scudamore's work is how smoothly and enjoyably he navigates his story. It's likely that on this showing, he'll win a large new readership. By turns brutal, romantic and darkly comic, this is a book which is always beautifully told. The novel has two main characters: Ludo, its somewhat spineless and upwardly mobile hero, and Sao Paulo, the Brazilian megacity he moves through, such is the force and depth of its description. Heliopolis is peopled by instantly memorable creations, charting Ludo's awakening to adulthood, coming too late at twenty-seven for this really to be called a 'coming of age' novel. The only criticism is that it feels less like a whole and more like the second volume of a triple-decker, a relocated Great Expectations or Vanity Fair – and that it leaves the reader wanting more. A must-read. [Kayleigh Bohan]