My last book of the year, which is very fitting because Drabble’s very English book is about Fran Stubbs and her group of friends and acquaintances all confronting their own mortality. It’s delightful group of people to spend time with; despite their aches, fears, and insecurities, for the most part they are matter-of-fact about aging, a perspective that is terrifically cheering. They pursue their pet projects, they appreciate a delicious meal or the sameness of a hotel chain, and they care for their friends and family, even when it’s inconvenient or a downright bore. Climate change and the resulting refugee crisis provide the backdrop for consideration of their own mortality; like most of us, they perceive these global tragedies as outrageous and sad and unsusceptible to intervention, and yet their lives are shaped by forces larger then themselves. And that is ultimately what Drabble’s novel is about: what we can accomplish in the face of unstoppable forces of nature or politics or love.