A many-faceted book of science, academia and contemporary country life in the Lake District. The account of the dreadful days of foot-and-mouth disease in the last epidemic is agonising and the Cumbrian accent is perfect.
It is most beautifully written, hypnotic as Proust, very funny and full of love that doesn't cloy... It is a dreamy, easy, wonderful read - and quite remarkable for a first novel.