Read: August 2006
I loved Jon McGregor’s critically acclaimed debut so it was with nervous excitement that I awaited this follow-up. It is a different book: meandering but with the same clarity of expression which made ‘If Nobody Speaks…’ such a privilege to read. The story follows Museum-Curator and adopted son David Carter through the course of his life. It is at once a paean to forgotten times and a celebration of the course of post-war British history. Through mementos from his life, David gradually integrates the past with the present and carries the reader along with the persistent tug of time. In many ways it reminded me of John Banville’s Booker winning novel ‘The Sea’. It has that same longing, the same concepts of remembering and forgetting. But this is a superior novel. Jon McGregor is effortlessly poetic; this is easy-to-read and full of everyday occurrences rendered with the author’s razor-sharp observation. Jon McGregor is an emerging gem of an author and this book will see his reputation continue to rise.
7 out of 10
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