Unusual subjects covered with tremendous skill in this novel of cartography which alternates between London and East Africa. Characters were beautifully drawn – particularly the rather stuffy John who works in a now defunct Government department shuffling maps around. You’re never totally sure what direction it is heading in, though the title is a broad hint, and it keeps its secrets admirably right to the very end. It reminded me a little of “The Remains of the Day”.

Stunning depictions of the African plain where one of the characters is engaged in the legwork of creating maps, as well as the technicalities of cartography itself. Helen hated being a junior cartographer but I thought it sounded fab. ( )

The story of John Hopkins, who has worked for the international section of Ordnance Survey all his adult life, first as part of the civil service, mapping the "empire" (in the late 1950s) and then as a commercial enterprise as the empire became the Commonwealth. There are two main periods of time: the present (1996) and the past (1957-62). In the earlier period John shares a flat with Laurance, an overseas surveyor for the same civil service department, who spends 10 months out of every 12 in Africa. John tries, largely unsuccessfully, to date Helen, who eventually elopes to Africa with Laurance.

In the present, John, who has never been abroad and has rarely left the south of England, travels to Lancashire, a trip involving four different trains and a bus, to visit Helen and ponders their shared past. Their shared story is revealed through John and Helen's memories and through letters and memos that John has kept.

I enjoyed this novel very much. In a similar way to Whitaker's "Eclipse of the Sun", John's character is gradually, subtly and ultimately very clearly revealed through his narration. Despite his limitations and flaws (and the appalling cheating at cricket admission) I sympathized with him. Helen's character was less successfully drawn: to me she seems at first immature and then just colourless really. I enjoyed the idea that John would marry his secretary. Laurance's letters were written in a distinct voice and he was a likeable character, although again morally lacking in some ways (although I don't think he would have cheated at cricket!).

The description of the work of the Ordnance Survey and of cartography in general was very interesting, as was the depiction of the struggle for independence of African countries. I'm not sure if T--- was supposed to be a thinly veiled actual country; I don't know enough about that era. Medicine's dilemma was well described.

My only criticism is that the parts set in 1957-62 were not always laid out in chronological order, which was unnecessarily confusing and led to repetition at least once. ( )

A very neatly constructed tale with a rather literal take on the traditional love triangle. This time the two men and one woman are employees of the Ordnance Survey, the government mapping agency of the UK. One of them is a surveyor whose life is spent using the traditional map making technique of triangulation. You can just imagine the author's chuckle to himself as he came up with the idea. He pulls it off pretty well giving each of his three principals different voices and characters. He has also done enough research to bring the period of the late 50s, early 60s to proper, grey life. And he has travelled to Dunsop Bridge, the tiny village that is recognised as the geographical centre of Britain where the heroine has her home. The shops he noticed on the main street of nearby Clitheroe when he wrote the novel more than 10 years ago are still there and still thriving. All very well done but a bit too neat really. ( )