The Last Thing to Burn – Will Dean

Jane (her name is not Jane) lives on a farm in the east of England. The farm belongs to Lenn, her husband (he is not her husband) and it stretches across the flat fenland to a far horizon. She would leave if she could; if her ankle had not been smashed and wrongly reset, if the consequences for her sister would not be so disastrous.

Thanh Dao (her real name) was trafficked to the UK from Vietnam and is held captive on the farm by Lenn who through violent coercion and psychological control extracts wifely duties – domestic and sexual - from her. One by one, Thanh Dao’s meagre possessions are burned in the Rayburn stove as punishment for transgressions, loosening her grip on her identity, pushing ever closer to becoming Jane.

Will Dean paints a horrific picture as he introduces these domestic arrangements on the farm. The contrast between Thanh Dao and Lenn’s perspectives is chilling. It is impossible not to share Thanh Dao’s suffering and hopelessness. But not quite hopeless. She grasps at straws, we root for her, even as they slip from her grasp. And when things cannot get worse, things get worse.

The narrative, carried by Thanh Dao, is riveting and while the spotlight is unrelentingly shone on modern slavery, the characters, even the despicable Lenn, are nuanced. Tension builds to a fine climax, the last thing that could be burnt is unthinkable, but not impossible.

Just Like You – Nick Hornby

Lucy and Joseph are both single, attractive Londoners, but that is where the common ground ends. Lucy is forty-two, white, separated with two young sons, and as head of English at a secondary school, one of the liberal Remainers that abound in that part of the capital. Joseph is twenty-two, black, an aspiring (but as yet unpaid) DJ with a portfolio of part time jobs and a bed at home with a mother of Lucy’s age. His not-at-home dad is a rampant Brexiteer.

One of Joseph’s jobs is a Saturday shift serving in the high street butcher’s frequented by Lucy. Mutual unacknowledged attraction develops over the pork chops, but when they get chatting, Lucy mentions she needs a sitter for the boys. Joseph volunteers, and the die is cast.

Hornby cleverly steers a credible course for the unlikely lovers. Playful intergenerational banter develops into flirtatiousness, and then mutual attraction is finally declared. Both realise taking it further should be a non-starter, and both try dabbling elsewhere, but resistance is futile. They get it together.

There is fun for the reader, if not the characters, as they sample each other’s lifestyle and enter each other’s social circles. Can the romance survive outraging the norms of society?

As ever, Nick Hornby is assured in his depiction of how men and women interact. Even in this case, with so little in common, the dialogue is natural even when it is awkward. Issues raised are not shied away from but are dealt with in a balanced way and with a light touch that make for a positive and enjoyable read.

The Mother Tongue – Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson turns his attention to the English language that he uses to such great effect, its history, development, spread and usage. He mines a vast volume of other people’s research and picks out the tasty titbits for easy and entertaining consumption.

He covers how words originated and points out that many basic terms in widely different languages can be traced back to a common root. The links between speaking, pronunciation, writing, and printing are explored as language becomes formalised, regulated, subverted, and adapted by turn.

Having covered the basics of language he focuses on English and how it has become used, and misused, as a global means of communication. There are reasons for its popularity; despite its inconsistencies it has a simplicity and adaptability not found in many other tongues.

The subject is a gift for Bryson’s ability to combine jaw-dropping facts with well-chosen absurdities. The result is not a scholarly work but a riot of factoids and anecdotes, any page of which would provide enough material for erudite dinner party small talk or amusing pub group trivia.