R.J. Ellory, "The Anniversary Man: A Novel"

What is it that Mr Ellory has that many otherwise competent writers don't? What lifts him above the crowd? I believe it is his ability to make loneliness, longing, sadness and tragedy come alive for us and transform us, without causing despair. He has that quality that I look for, above all others, in a writer: the ability to remind us of the bittersweet nature of life here on earth. It is a quality that he shares with such esteemed writers as Haruki Murakami, Kazuo Ishiguro and the late Roberto Bolano.