C by Tom McCarthy

This book is a strange and amazing tour-de-force. It's the story of Serge Carrefax, who is born in his caul in 1898, grows up in a school for deaf children (although he's not deaf himself), fights in World War I, and then goes to Egypt to work on an imperial telegraph project. The story is not really driven by plot, and Serge is not a well-rounded character. But it's intensely playful, has a sort of dark humor, and I found the book a quite enjoyable read.