Perfect

I enjoyed Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry , especially I think due to hearing it read by Jim Broadbent who did a fantastic job of the narration. Consequently, when Dave downloaded Perfect for our Kindle, I looked forward to the read.

Perfect tells the story of one hot summer and its aftermath from the point of view of Byron Hemmings, a 'posh' boy living with his ornamental mother, his younger sister and, at weekends, his father who returns to his family from The City. I liked Joyce's portrayal of this family, their strained relationships and quiet desperation to maintain appearances at any cost. However, as we see them through Byron's eyes, much of the adult interaction is only revealed via misunderstood eavesdropping. I thought the most interesting character was the mother, Diana, and I would have preferred to follow her instead. I didn't think Byron's childhood friend, James, was realistic and found his pretentiousness irritating. And Beverley started out well, but then went way over the top.

Alternating with Byron's summer, we learn about Jim, a man who has mental health issues resulting in a need to observe repetitive rituals and an inability to easily communicate. Jim is portrayed very sympathetically and I think Joyce created a memorable character here. She manages to be humorous but without laughing at him which is tricky to do.

Unfortunately, I thought the ending did get too schmaltzy and relied on an overly convenient coincidence for a feel-good factor. Overall, I was a bit disappointed, probably due to having had too high expectations. Perfect is a nicely written book with good pace and an original storyline, but too many events were unbelievable and I found this frequently distracted me.