RESULTS

Indifferent by choice and indecisive by nature, Maria ploughs her way through the first 15 years of womanhood, unable to see what all the fuss is about. Will she ever be able to direct the course of her own life, or will it end as it began - accidentally?

William has a lot on his mind. Firstly there's The Alaska Factory, the band he plays in. They're no good and they make his songs sound about as groovy as an unpressed record. In fact they're so bad he's seriously thinking of leaving to join a group called The Unfortunates. Secondly, there's Madeline, his high-maintenance girlfriend whose idea of a night of passion is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical followed by a doorstep peck on the cheek. Maybe they're not soulmates after all. Lastly, there's the bizarre murder he's just witnessed. The guiding force behind The Unfortunates lies bludgeoned to death at his feet and, unfortunately for William, there aren't too many other suspects standing nearby .

B S Johnson was a well-known novelist in Britain whose innovations included a novel published in a box so its unbound chapters could be read in any order. But in 1973, depression caused him to take his own life at the age of 40. This biography reveals his fierce commitment to truth and honesty.

Jonathan Coe uses the microcosm of a Birmingham school to explore the politics of the 1970s, running through the administrations of Heath, Wilson and Callaghan and ending on the day of Margaret Thatcher's election victory. The novel is a commentary on life in Britain at this time and a study of childhood in both worlds, lust, jealousy and racism all play their part.