Anita Mostyn feels the need to take a holiday from her life. As a child, she was dismissed by her parents in favour of her more confident brothers, and as an adult, her choices are disapproved of - the small art gallery she works for, the friends she makes, the men she sees. On a whim, she takes up an offer to scout for holiday properties in Bulgaria, escaping the impending second wedding of her perfect brother. But as Anita navigates these difficult waters, a horrifying episode in her past - the thing she has really been trying to escape - comes back to haunt her.
Janet Davey was born in 1953. She is the author of English Correspondence, which was longlisted for the 2002 Orange Prize, First Aid and The Taxi Queue. She lives in London.
A triumph
Independent - Susie Boyt
So deliciously written that it's worth re-reading to savour the images she conjures up...it's a joy to read
Daily Mail - Clare Colvin
We're lucky to have such an intelligent chronicler of our present - and of the dirty, noisy beauty of contemporary London
Guardian - Tessa Hadley
Easy to read and oddly compelling...a memorable, and very clever, book
Sunday Times - Lucy Atkins
Funny and real as well as impressively sympathetic...this perceptive, engaging little novel says a great deal about human vulnerability, resilience and the passivity that too often goes unnoticed.
Irish Times - Eileen Battersby