During Mexico City’s 1985 earthquake the house of Dr Alfonso Semitiel collapsed. He and his wife decide to clear the site, build five houses around a small courtyard and rent out four. The one they call home is given the name Umami.

Two of the houses are leased by Linda and Victor. They live in one with their children and have set up their academy of music in the other. The remaining two are tenanted by Beto; his daughter, Pina; and Marina Mendoza, a painter.

Beto’s wife has disappeared; Alfonso’s wife has died of cancer; Linda and Victor’s youngest child has drowned; Pina is missing her mother; and Marina is battling an eating disorder. Belldrop Mews, as the complex is called, is a hotbed of grief.

Umami is not a book to grab for a five-minute read. It demands slabs of time, but you will be rewarded with a compassionate, darkly comic portrait of five households going through a tough time.

In each chapter a different person tells their story. Not once did I feel that these interconnected accounts of missed opportunities, intimate truths and sad regrets were attention-seeking diatribes from a group of nutters wallowing in despair. What I did feel was compassion and a hope that time would ease their suffering.

The unconventional style of Umami will not appeal to all. It is, however, a novel for readers looking for a challenge.

Reviewed by Clive Hodges