Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn

"His sense of self was so fragile and contingent; it might dissolve like a watercolour in the rain."

Having been a big fan of St. Aubyn's Patrick Melrose series, when I saw there was a new release from him I put it on the top of my to buy list and it speedily married. A chapter in and I'd realised it was an homage to King Lear and yet it took on a fresh and enjoyable voice. The novel is part of a series of re-imaginings of Shakespeare's stories by famous novelists and this is my favourite to date.

All the characters just bounce off the page in a kind of warts and all style that is irresistible. A billionaire media mogul finds himself at the mercy of his power hungry daughters, drugged and placed in an institution while they attempt a coop over his business. 

Thankfully, his youngest daughter has other plans and therein lies the drama. This book was my happy escape from a work week of seven days and countless hours that pushed my abilities to concentrate to their extremes. My only quibble was that it finished way too soon and now I have no more St Aubyn to lose myself in. If you're reading this sir, please continue with your writing as you have a captive audience here.

5 out of 5 family squabbles can be intense.