Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

An exciting piece of fiction that seeks to get inside the mind of post-Iraq soldiers and their newfound fame.

Taking place during an afternoon, we follow Billy Lynn, the youngest member of Bravo Squad, a viral YouTube sensation for their bravery in combating Iraqi insurgents, as they do a hometime lap of glory during the halftime of an American football game.

We see all the politics in play - from the media and politicians wanting to polemicise in their name, to the fans and bystanders attending the game, to the cheerleaders. Everyone has an agenda and Billy Lynn is lost in a sea of manipulation, one that lays bare the hypocrises at the heart of US foreign policy and domestic propeganda. In one startling sequence, the squad is asked to share the halftime stage with none other than R'n'B band Destiny's Child and, well, I won't spoil it for you, but the writing is exquisite.

Each page draws insight from the smallest wonders and the biggest motives. The writing is electric and pumps with a searing satirical edge. In a year teeming with big novels, this is and will remain one of its best, as it does something not many books do, tells us about our time, now, here - this is the state of a nation, in a brilliantly drawn microcosm.