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Nathan Hill’s The Nix was one of my favourite reads of 2016/17. A brilliant mix of tragedy and hilarity, it was a family saga with some political history and the birth and growth of online gaming and social media thrown in for good measure. He hasn’t published a book since, so when I spotted this one, I was quick to grab a copy.

This novel tells the story of Jack and Elizabeth: how they're met, married, and how their union eventually became stale. So in one sense it’s a love story that’s all too familiar, but that’s discounting the author’s ability to get right under the skin of interesting people and his knack of homing in on interesting themes that run along side their story. This sets him apart from other, less inspiring writers. The supporting themes this time around include health scams, polyamory and how social media enables conspiracy theories to get a foothold.

Looking back on my review of his previous book, I commented that ‘some sections do jabber on a bit�. This is evident here, too, particularly when the author launches into a lengthy (if interesting) exploration of how social media algorithms work. But overall it’s an intelligent and well written account of love and living in the modern world. It’s another five-star rating for me. I just hope I don’t have to wait another seven years for his next novel.