A Few Fair Days

As always, Jane Gardam writes with an unbeatable combination of poetry, humanity and dazzling wit. Here her subject is not the agonized adolescence she has dealt with elsewhere, but rather the small events in a younger child's life. A rural setting brings opportunities for colloquial speech, much of it very funny indeed; but Gardam never condescends to her characters, young or old. The writer is wise enough, and skillful enough, not to let her grownup perspective come between her and a complete identification with her child protagonist. Don't look for grand passions or earth-shattering revelations. This is an intimate book that illuminates the everyday with warmth, charm and intelligence.