Little Hands Clapping by Dan Rhodes Canongate HK$104
If you haven't tried Dan Rhodes yet, then Little Hands Clapping is a fine place to start. All of Rhodes' Rhodesiest qualities are present: a sideways, if gruesome take on life; a black sense of humour; caricatured characters you can care about; and a witty way with words. Our first point of contact is the elderly caretaker of a museum dedicated to suicide. Rhodes describes a spider crawling into the sleeping man's gaping mouth. The joke seems to be on the caretaker until: 'but there is no escape from the thin, grey tongue that pushes it first into his cheek and then between his teeth.' Told you it was gruesome. The museum, which lies in a dark corner of a small German town, is meant to soothe the depressed: according to its Pavarotti-obsessed owner, its aim is to demonstrate that life is worth living. But suicidal folk are drawn to its displays of celebrity deaths and fatal artefacts like 'moths to a flame'. As the caretaker swallows his spider, a young woman hangs herself with one of the museum's exhibits. It is grisly, but also funny and moving - the main plot is driven by two stunningly beautiful lovers who take shelter in the museum's dark halls. Odd and enchanting.