A moving, funny and wise new novel by one of the masters of European literature. A wonderful book that covers so many bases, while the protagonist keeps his position and moves little in relation to all that is happening around him - he is 'the hummingbird'. The structure is inventive and varied, and contains a rainbow of emotions, played pizzicato across a lifetime of families at their best and worst. It's wry, eccentric, perceptive, creative, nostalgic - you name it, there's many a bell inside the pages that will ring just for you. It really is as good as the stellar list of authors on the back (Ian McEwan, Howard Jacobsen, Jhumpa Lahiri etc) who line up to sing the praises of both the author and this extraordinary book