The Coma - Alex Garland

As soon as you flick through The Coma you know it's not going to be your average novel. For one thing, there are no page numbers. The text is divided into unnumbered sections which are then divided into numbered mini-sections, some only a few sentences long, and it's illustrated by woodcuts created by Alex Garland's father, Nicholas Garland, who is apparently a political cartoonist. Already, you can sense there's a problem in reviewing this book: it demands to be reviewed on its own terms. It opens with Carl at work late at night. His secretary rings (from home) to tell him that it's nearly ... more