Seldom Seen

If you have romantic dreams of moving to the country, this is not the book for you. There are plenty of farms and fields, but there is no twee edge to the realism: butchered chickens and fly-tipped rubbish and the choking smell of rapeseed fill every page.

Many novels use a crime as a catalyst to show the secrets and lies of small towns, and in Seldom Seen this crime is more awful than most: a baby is left dead and mutilated in a ditch, and is later found by teenager Desiree White, who never quite recovers from the experience. Introverted Desiree works in the local shop, and so is the ideal observer of the gossiping wives and drunken farmers around her. She chronicles the town's breakdown in a devastatingly honest voice, and makes the setting real enough to smell and taste.

At first, this novel requires a little patience on the part of the reader, as its slightly aimless beginning makes it difficult to see how the text fits in with the salacious promises of the jacket copy. But stay with it, because this book is far more clever and subtle than it seems. In Seldom Seen, Sarah Ridgard has written a claustrophobic, compelling coming-of-age tale that will reward a patient reader. This author is definitely one to watch.