Sitting here on the plane to Milano; tears in my eyes. I just finished listening to the audio book "May We Be Forgiven" a prize winning novel by American author A. M. Homes; narration by Nathan Osgood. Tears in my eyes; because sometimes when I finish a story, I mourn its loss; because of the sheer humanity, the sheer compassion of it all. I am taken by the ordinariness of the plot line and the by characters. The story takes place during the course of a single year. It is told by College Professor, lecturer in modern history, Harry Silver. His specific area of expertise is the life, the presidency and era of Mr Richard Milhouse Nixon.

The story opens at a family Thanksgiving celebration, and is determined by a series of appalling and shocking events, which occur in rapid succession shortly after. The rest of the book charts the resonating effects on those involved with , as they try to find reason and purpose in their lives. The reading is wonderful. Nathan Osgood gives extraordinary life to the characters in the novel. His tone is perfect; sympathetic to the themes which Homes raises. And she doesn't shy away from some pretty profound important themes. Themes like family, love, fear, life and death, ego, sex , dementia and aging, selfishness and altruism to name just some. And through it all glitters a dark seam of humour. This is modern life told with a twist. I already have another one Homes's novels, "The End Of Alice", lined up and ready to start.