THE RAW SHARK TEXTS by Steven Hall

This book became a huge sensation last year for good reason. It's a provocative blend of a thriller with a metaphysical tour of human consciousness. It's a mystery that sucks you in with the first chapter and then takes you on a wildly conceptual journey that manages to raise some major philosophical questions without ever compromising the pacing of the story.

A man wakes up with total amnesia, the only clue to his identity a letter from himself. The letter tells him this has happened before and will likely happen again if he doesn't take steps to prevent it. The letter gives him directions to a doctor familiar with his case, but is also instructs him to say nothing about the letter to the doctor.

And what does the doctor say? Under no circumstances should the hapless amnesiac read any letters from himself. His condition is chronic and his past self will only confuse things. But the letters keep coming, and the story they tell is fantastic, a tale that blurs the lines between reality and nightmare.

Steven Hall is a gifted writer. It's a big book but a quick read that will have you thinking differently about your own existence.