Consequences of the Heart by Peter Cunningham (Harvill, £6.99 in UK)

A kind of "big house" book in which the big house is mostly absent and Irish history, for once, becomes thoroughly European, Peter Cunningham's haunting, haunted second novel is the story of Chud Conduit, the illegitimate grandson of a small-town Irish businesswoman. Born outside the law, Chud is destined to stay there one way or another, chiefly through his menagea-trois relationship with Jack Santry, lord of the local Anglo-Irish estate, and the beautiful Rosa, daughter of the local bookmaker, while the second World War and its emotional aftermath chug along in the background. Cunningham's characters are as angular and dangerous as his prose is dreamy and smooth, and his easy intimacy and dry wit make this strange love story a joy to read.