(Since 2026 is National Year of Reading, I’m sharing some pieces on what I’m reading, and occasionally on books that have been hugely important to me over the years. Bear in mind that I’m a book magpie – I don’t shop from the reviews page or the Booker shortlist - I’m just as likely to pick up some second hand thing from 1972 that I’ve been meaning to read for ages, or re-read something I loved the first time round…)

A glowing, bruised tale of middle America in mid century – two boys separated in childhood by a scandal that befell the family of one of them, a scandal that ended in murder, and the long pull of the grief and loss that followed their separation.

Maxwell writes so movingly that it’s hard to believe it’s not a fictionalised account of something that actually happened in his own adolescence. Set in the farmland and small towns of rural Illinois, it’s a slim novel that often seems bathed in a golden dusty light, but with sinister shadows of madness and revenge at the edges. It’s recently been reissued, with a degree of ‘overlooked masterpiece’ hoopla about it, and it’s a title that often shows up on ‘favourite books’ lists.

I’m not sure if it enters my list yet… it might come back on me: I have a feeling this is a story - and a telling - that might stay with me for some time.