"A Trick I Learned from Dead Men," by Kitty Aldridge

Novel, 2012

Readable first person account of how a young funeral parlour employee tries to grow up in the face of hugely challenging domestic and personal circumstances. A quick read in which Lee, the main character, has a strong voice which is very occasionally undermined by being perhaps a little too 'shouty' and vernacular. Still, the first person narrative and deadpan delivery are effective in getting across the character of the main players in the book, and also a helpless sense of trying to escape the small town. Heavy handed, but not at all bad for it.

"Pop", by Kitty Aldridge

Novel, 2001

A novel which kicks off with some extraordinarily rich writing, which then flails and flags a little, but ends up delivering a satisfying whole. For the most part, this is an absorbing page turner, though it can feel as if plot points aren't resolved or somehow worked through to the kind of areas they may profitably be pushed into. Details of Midlands pub life are excellently sketched, though possibly distract from the more serious themes of loss and ambition. All in all, a cracking read.