Clare Morrall

An agreeable, often very funny novel about music and the difficulty of making sense of the rest of humanity when you are somewhere on the autism spectrum. I felt it was slightly spoilt by the way all the female characters (except the main viewpoint character, her mother and her mother-in-law) were competent, resourceful, tactful domestic angels and almost all the male characters were infantile monsters who seemed to exist only to sleep, have tantrums and be fed. Obviously not an unrealistic view of the world, but a somewhat monochrome one...… (altro)

Quinn has settled into a kind of contentment after living for 5 years in a caravan on a roundabout when his peace is disturbed - shortly after an interview with a journalist, he is attacked and his home is trashed. He finds himself relying on the hospitality of a nearby service station where he has been a regular cafeteria patron.

This is the opening for a quirky and moving story about an older man remembering his childhood and coming to a new understanding of it. It is quite slow paced but I liked the writing and the quiet humour. Quinn and his triplet sisters grew up with a mother who was an acclaimed writer of children's books, in which they appeared as characters, but the reality was rather less idyllic than the fiction or than her public persona.

One for fans of reflective fiction rather than action packed stories.

Reviewed March 2012. I received a copy for review through the Amazon Vine programme.… (altro)