'Marmite books' are books that divide opinion to the extremes: either you love them or hate them. It's all about individual taste.
The reluctant fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.
Braille 2v; giant print 2v; TB 15527
Philip Pullman loved it:
"The author has managed to tighten the screw of suspense almost without our being aware it is happening, and the result is a tale of enormous tension. I read a lot of thrillers - or rather I start reading a lot of thrillers, and put most of them down - but this is more exciting than any thriller I've read for a long time, as well as being a subtle and elegant analysis of the state of our world today. I was enormously impressed."
But Rob Manchester hated it:
"I have been sleeping soundly after reading this title. The words scary and mysterious are not ones I would use to describe this book. To be honest the only reason I finished it was due to the fact it was rather short. Though I will say this for the author, if you are looking for a book that does not contain violence or bad language then this is the story for you. It is written in a way that is refreshing to see but makes the story line hard work."
How many stars would you give it? Nominate your title for next month's issue.
Ever get stuck about what to read next? We've added some lists to our web pages with suggestions of authors you might enjoy:
authors you might also like
Let us know which authors you enjoy and challenge us and our readers to recommend some more.