THE FARM

Hector Abad, trans. by Anne McLean (Archipelago Books)

A story about a farming family’s conflict against drug dealers, paramilitaries and guerrillas in the Colombian mountains; anything connected to this topic and location seems to be atop of most people’s perusal choice these days, and will tick those boxes. It ticks no boxes for avoiding being a dog of a book to read, though. The book has three interlinked narratives that often lead nowhere, despite some excellent notes about political violence and land ownership issues. This is a book written for the highbrow reader, which admittedly, is not this reader. The three protagonists of The Farm come across as egotistical and not very likeable; I had no good feelings for any of them, irrespective of what was happening to them. The structure didn’t work for me – a hard read. CM

Price: £10. Info: www.archipelagobooks.org