The Spare Room by Helen Garner

Wow, this is an amazing book. It's a quick and easy read but profoundly beautiful and an unflinching look at death and the process of dying. Garner manages to convey the despair and slow loss of hope without being melodramatic or sentimental. The point of view is from a friend of a terminal cancer victim who has come to stay in her spare room while undergoing alternative treatments.

I don't want to say too much about the plot. It's short and compelling - a perfect afternoon book. I found it on the Guardian's list of the best unread books of the decade. It would make a great book club book because it would be excellent to discuss. I'm not quite to the age where this sort of thing is happening in my circle of friends, but it will. No escaping death and all that.