Headlong by Michael Frayn

This is yet another novel that I picked out of Waterstones displays of noteworthy books, and as usual, it proved a great read. It reminded me a lot of Byatt's Possession, but I remember that when I was reading Possession, it constantly seemed to me that it just wasn't funny enough, there seemed to be a lot of openings for some really hilarious action, but it just didn't happen (I don't think much of Byatt's sense of humour in general). This novel really exploited the comedy to the full, it was absolutely hilarious. I loved the voice of the narrator, it was one of the most engaging and witty first-person narrations I've ever read. I didn't like the extensive parts about history, and got hopelessly confused with the maths on commission percentages, tax duties, etc, but other than that, it was great. I found the pacing of it really unusual, it seemed like as soon as something seemed to have been decided upon and settled, everything turns upside-down and becomes a gigantic mess, so that nothing seems solid and stable. The action seems to move at either an absolutely frantic speed, so stop completely, then suddenly set off in a different direction. As someone who (in a very small way) struggles with interpreting and criticism (though not, thankfully, of art), I was really amused by the narrator's attempts to come up with sweeping, grand interpretations, only to throw them aside the next second and start all over again with a new, even more improbable one. The book didn't make me in the least interested in 16th century art or history in the Netherlands, but it was really amusing, clever and fun, and plus there were several allusions to The Importance of Being Earnest (apt, since it's the ultimate farce), which made me very happy.