Middlepost, by Antony Sher (Abacus, £7.99 in UK)

In this, his debut novel, Antony Sher looks at the early settlers in his native South Africa from a decidedly unusual standpoint; his central character, Smous, is a Lithuanian immigrant who understands neither English, Dutch nor any of the other languages which jostle to be heard in his uncompromising new environment and who is naive to the point of simple mindedness. It's a fascinating angle, and Sher recreates Smous's quasi Biblical imaginary world in a fluid, impressionistic manner - it is, in short, a good trick, but not good enough to hold the reader's interest for 400-odd page's, and what is of necessity a sprawling plot is allowed to ramble on for rather too long. Sher's energy, however, is impressive, and his handling of the pitiless South African landscape is superb.