Diana Swingler

I enjoyed this autobiographical novel mainly for its simplicity in writing about complex emotions. What comes across most strongly is the enduring impact of an only child growing up with a parent with mental health problems and alcoholism. And another parent who is absenteed through illness and drinking away his own misery. You wish for a sibling for Jeremy, a problem shared, the possibilty of a united front to protect each other. Unfortunately the only close bond is with his mother who appears to give and withdraw love in a bewildering way. The sense of sole responsibility isolates and determines the life decisions of this young teenager for many years. The author has written fragments of this life before and I admire the way he has cohered it to produce something quite different.