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FICTION:Leaving the WorldBy Douglas Kennedy Hutchinson, 451pp, €11.99 - DOUGLAS KENNEDY is an American-born writer, now living on this side of the Atlantic, dividing his time between London, Paris and Berlin. Following a career in theatre and newspapers, he wrote a number of travel books before writing three well-received thrillers between 1994 and 1998.

In 2001, he changed genre completely to write The Pursuit of Happiness, a literary romantic tale set against the back-drop of the McCarthy witch-hunts. He has continued to write intelligent fiction about complex characters in novels including A Special Relationship (2003) and, most recently, The Woman in the Fifth (2007). He is a self-confessed culture addict and his books are filled with frequent and lyrical references to film, literature and music. Leaving the World is no different.