I am a huge fan of most of the Man Booker Prize winners, but I could not understand why such a dry and bleak book would have been chosen as the winner for 2011. 
 This is the story of a man recounting his youth, specifically a failed relationship with a girlfriend who later dated a good friend of his. When he is well into his sixties, he recieves notification that he has inherited some money from the mother of his ex and the diary of his friend who had dated her, forcing him to reconnect with his ex. 
 The book manages to skip any description or discussion about any of the interesting parts of the book; his friend's suicide, the relationship his ex had with her mother and finally the course of events leading up to the complicated relationships each had. Of course, this would have taken focus off of the main character and narrator, but I wish it would have! 
 The book, told in first person, focuses on lingering questions and regrets of the main character. We can all relate to these things, but who wants to read about it for over 100 pages?