"An Irresponsible Age" by Lavinia Greenlaw (Harper Perrennial, 2006)

I gave up at about page 30 - wasn't interested enough in the characters or language. The reviews suggest I'm in the minority, so I might go back to it. Here are some of the livelier parts so far

• "As far as Lambeth Bridge there were white walls, swagged chains and cast-iron railings. Then the path gave way to four lanes of traffic edged by an intermittent yellow line which was supposed to designate a cycle path. Half a mile ahead, this line ended as the road crossed from a borough which supported cycle paths into one that did not" (p.7)
• "Fred has been a child who acted the part of a grown-up. Now he was a grown-up acting the part of a grown-up. He was the same height as Juliet, but did not have her coherence. With his red-and-white looks, fizziness and wild hair, he might strike you as badly wired whereas Juliet was wire" (p.8)

Other reviews

• Jem Potter (Guardian)
• Ruth Scurr (Observer)
• Anita Sethi (Telegraph)
• Catherine Humble (Telegraph)
• Katie Gould(Living Scotsman)