Windows on the moon - Alan Brownjohn

Set just after the war, Brownjohn's fourth novel captures with great vividness the lives of austerity Londoners. With no sense of victory and little let-up in the daily hardships, they are just beginning to feel the beginnings of hope for the future. All, that is, except Pierre-Henri, wartime collaborator in Vichy France, who is lying low and has a bag packed just in case. Next door, Perce and Maureen Hollard are struggling with a son who feels he has outgrown them intellectually. A rich narrative following the ordinary lives of extraordinary people.