Astonishing splashes of colour - Clare Morrall

When is the right time to tell someone they're not who they think they are? Caught in an over-vivid world, Kitty is tipped off-centre by the loss of her 'child that never was'. And as children all around become emblems of hope and longing and grief, she's made shockingly aware of why she has this pervasive sense of non-existence . . .What mystery makes Kitty's decidedly odd family so vague about her mother's life? And why does Dad splash paint on canvas rather than answer his daughter's questions? On the edges of her dreams Kitty glimpses the 'kaleidoscope van' that took her sister Dinah away - will it connect her to her childhood?This compelling and witty debut tells of identity struggles in a large family, the sadness of lost children - and the optimism of an eccentric, loving marriage ('He'd make a wonderful husband if it wasn't for me'). Clare Morrall's insightful, naf narrative has resonated with hundreds of thousands of readers since its Booker Prize shortlisting in 2003 and continues to make new fans each year.

Astonishing Splashes of Colour was Clare Morrall's enormously successful Man Booker Prize-shortlisted debut. A music teacher with two adult children, she lives and works in Birmingham. Clare Morall's fourth novel, The Man Who Disappeared, was published in February 2010 by Sceptre and chosen for Channel 4's TV Book Club.