READ ME
You’ve probably heard of the ‘misery memoir’, but did you know publishers are now flogging a genre they call ‘misery fiction’? So if you don’t have your own tale of child abuse, forcibly arranged marriage or bulimia to tell, you can invent a character who does!
Genius, no? Actually, it would be very unfair to put Chris Paling’s Minding (Portobello Books, £7.99) in that category, though it describes one of every parent's worst nightmare: having their child taken into care.
Jane’s mental illness means she sees her son Billy only four times a year, but the visits are what both characters live for. Then disaster strikes and Jane misses her appointment, but the crisis opens up new possibilities for mother and child. Paling’s prose is restrained, wry and very moving, so don’t blame me if you burst into tears on the tube.
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