A residential street in London, Pepys Road, is the center of the universe in this diverse, humorous and empathetic novel by Londoner, John Lanchester.

The depth and breadth of characters make for an immersive reading experience.

Every other chapter switches from a wealthy City banker and his breadhead wife who seem to live beyond their means; to a Polish builder who takes pride in not being like a typical British builder and gets to do up a couple of Pepys Road properties. Then, there's the shadowy seeker of asylum who takes pride in handing out parking tickets, and the extended family from south Asia who own and operate the local store.

There are other real-world characters too, and Lanchester does a brilliant job of drawing us into their lives and experiences.

Set around the time of the impending global financial crisis in late 2008, Pepys Road and it's residents, nannies and building renovators aren't immune to London's imposing bureaucracy, soaring property prices, high cab fares and intimidating tube commutes. We also feel entangled in all the mess of doctors waiting rooms, egotistical lawyers and impossible insurance company executives, determined not to let you have your way, entirely.

And there's an undercurrent of menace in the streets. An unlikely criminal whose terrorizing the neighborhood with strange postcards and photographs of the owners properties. It gets bad enough that London's bobbies finally get involved doing interrogations and taking notes.

Capital is a fluid novel that never bores. Paced well, with frequent character and scene switches and with such depth, and with so much wit and humor, we can catch ourselves laughing out loud.

Whether you're a Londoner or not, Capital, is a worthy character-driven read.