#bookerprizeshortlist
I have yet to read Safekeep (my next-up) and Creation Lake but, as it stands, for me it's a contest between this and James.
It's a quiet, pensive, slow-paced book, with themes of grief, remorse, forgiveness. It explores how we go about the task of being able to live with ourselves (never mind others!) and whether "retreat" is a culpable or even possible response to the world. Oh, and there's a plague of mice to keep it real.