Francis King
The most remarkable non-fiction book of the year — surely destined to become a minor classic — was undoubtedly John Bayley's Iris (Duckworth, £16.95). Since this liber amoris reveals so much more of its author than he may have intended, it might more accurately have been entitled Iris and John. Bayley's account — too precipitate in its publication, some people have consid- ered — of the remorseless decline of a loved and admired author into the help- lessness of Alzheimer's is both tragic and eerie. It left me with a feeling of sadness and unease in equal measure.
The best novel to come my way was Derek Bevan's Acts of Mutiny (Fourth Estate, £14.95). The interweaving of strands of plot is sometimes too intricate, the characters jostle each other so closely that it is a miracle that they can breathe. But I tip this young novelist for a distin- guished future. A Booker jury less eager to honour already established authors for books far below their usual form would certainly have put him on its short-list.
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