When Liam is forced to leave his teaching job, he decides to economise. He moves to a smaller, cheaper flat and on his first night, he makes his bed up nice and tight and falls into an exhausted sleep. But Liam wakes up somewhere different, with absolutely no memory of how he got there.

John Updike, Nick Hornby, Eudora Welty and Jonathan Franzen have been numbered among Tyler’s fans and it’s easy to see why. She is preoccupied with how people ‘get along in the world’ and she renders her characters with such empathy, insight and acerbic and sneaky humour that they are often more vividly real to me than some people I actually know. This is certainly true of Liam. I defy anyone to read the first chapter of Noah’s Compass and then put the book down; and Liam’s subsequent attempts to regain his memory – and the consequences of his efforts – will resonate with the reader long after the book is finished. Not only is Anne Tyler a brilliant writer, but Noah’s Compass is one of her best books in years.