Heartfelt home truth An extraordinary portrait of a 1950s American housewife, based on the diaries of Will Self's mother in an act of filial generosity

Will Self has a history of gonzo premises. He has written novels set in the afterlife, in a world ruled by chimpanzees, in a post-apocalyptic society based on the misogynist rantings of a London cabby.

- Sandra Newman

When his characters aren't engaged in necrophilia, they're fighting off swarms of hungry sharks. It may come as a surprise, then, to learn that his new novel, Elaine, is a relentlessly quotidian psychological study of a 1950s housewife, in which the main character is mostly alone, cooking, cleaning and yearning for one of her husband's colleagues. It makes more sense, however, when you learn that the housewife in question is inspired by Self's mother, and the book is based on diaries found after her death.