by Joseph Connolly
Quercus
(e-book)
Joseph Connolly writes vivid slices of English life that are heavy on character, mainly funny but tinged with a bitter-sweet sadness. Set in 1959, is all these things and more. The loose, winding plot is told from the point of view of several characters. There is Milly, step-mother to young Paul and wife to Jim, a gruff type who runs the local hardware store. Indeed, all the main male characters are shopkeepers: nervous, but kindly Stan, who owns the sweet shop; and Jonty Barton, the refined, but formidable butcher. Set on a single street in north London, the drama slowly emerges from the gap between who these people seem to be and who they actually are. So, Milly acts the part of capable housewife and parent, while longing for love, romance and sex with Jonty. Stan raises his only son, who suffers from polio, and tries to ignore the fact that his wife is clearly mentally ill. Jonty, meanwhile is a man with a dark past. Connolly's characters twist and turn like real people, only with better dialogue. Wonderful, funny and moving.
by George V. Higgins
