Gripping
Instructions for a Heat WaveI really enjoyed this book from the author of Hamnet, amongst others. The novel is set in the heatwave of 1976 which I endured in London. Hosepipe bans, a minister for Droughts, washing up water directed via a Heath Robinson contraption fabricated from odd bits of guttering, drainpipes, plumbing parts - all held together with string and wire - onto a patch of bare earth which used to masquerade as a lawn, and temperatures regularly hitting the thirties. This is the story of an Irish family not only struggling with the enervating heat but also the fact that their elderly father has popped out for a newspaper and not returned. Two estranged sisters and their brother return to the family home to help their mother find him. The narrative bounces between the mother and children as they work their way though their own problems of infidelity and insecurity whilst searching for their missing father. Always beautifully written, sometimes funny and sometimes sad, this a great book.