I don’t always follow through when people recommend books to me. The older I get, the more I want to make my own choices. However, I’m very glad I picked this one up. I had recently read ‘The Hours’ by Michael Cunningham and loved it (and the film) so I had high expectations of this book.
It ‘twas ever thus that some people go through life easily, happily and seemingly without any trauma or angst while others constantly struggle to make sense of life and navigate their way through the obstacles, real or imagined.
I was constantly reminded of J.D Salinger’s Catcher on the Rye as I read about the 3 young people: Jonathan, Bobby and Clare. Added to the problems of growing up, A Home at the End of the World is set in the rather chaotic times of the 1970s and 80s with Aids threatening everyone’s peace of mind.
The strange threesome need to find a place to belong, they need to realise their sexuality and discover what it is they want from life. This is a real growing-up novel, beautifully written and showing intimate understanding of complications and predicaments, frustrations that we all face as we try to come to terms with life. This was a great read and one that stayed with me long after I had finished it.