Astonishing Splashes of Colour

Kitty, the youngest child, was brought up by her father, an artist, in a house full of older boys; of her mother, who died on the road, and of the sister who left home she remembers almost nothing. As an adult she seems somehow stuck in childhood. Her moods soar and crash, and she perceives people and feelings as colours. Her husband sleeps in the next-door flat, an odd arrangement for a loving couple, and she cannot get past the baby she miscarried, while every child she meets stirs longing or sorrow. When the men of her family finally tell her something they have hidden for years, her grip on reality loosens and she sets off impulsively towards breakdown.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Genres

Family (assigned by AI)

First published

2003

Author's age

51 when first published

ISBN

9780954130329 (Tindal Street Press, United Kingdom)

9780060734459 (HarperCollins, United States)

9780060734466 (Harper Perennial, United States)

9781444780314 (Sceptre, United Kingdom)

More

Wikidata