This - after her semi-autobiographical Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - is the real thing, written after a journey into 'madness' lead her to re-evaluate her past and her relationship to it. Adopted by a terrifying Pentecostal mother, she survived by clandestinely reading 'English Fiction from A to Z' from the public library. It's a lucidly truthful and startlingly philosophical story of a child's instinctive drive to find happiness and love against all the odds. Absolutely exceptional.
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 65 Summer 2011 ) |
