Tower and Town, March 2019

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March Miscellany: A Good Read

Some authors fly under the radar, respected by critics but somehow never becoming Big Literary Names. Tessa Hadley is one such (though she has appeared at Marlborough LitFest, so we know about her). In Late in the Day she employs all her technical skill and empathy, moving between different viewpoints in past and present to explore the intricacies of a group relationship. Two couples and their children, closely linked for all of their adult lives, are left free-floating when Zach, the linchpin of the group, the universally loved, the one no-one falls out with or resents, dies suddenly and unexpectedly. The loss highlights the fault lines in the network, and when the square is broken the structure cannot stand. Hadley’s characters are completely realistic and relatable, grieving, shocked, exasperating, struggling. This immensely readable novel carries reader and characters through the upheaval and mess with the author’s characteristic eye for detail and beautifully crafted writing. 

Debby Guest