How to Be Human by Paula Cocozza

Paula Cocozza's novel How to Be Human is an arresting, appealing debut, telling the story of its protagonist, Mary, and the fox that visits her East London garden – met at first with irritation, then affection, building to an obsessive love.

The novel's sphere is small, set often in Mary's house or her next-door neighbours', where she babysits their children and speculates on their relationship. It's set oftener still in the garden, where she encounters the fox, or in the streets, where she encounters her ex-fiance. It does not need a wider scope – within this wilderness there are tangles and hiding places, danger, and the power of words unsaid.

Cocozza has a knack for imagery, rendering moments vibrant and immediate. Sometimes, however, passages would benefit from paring down where a glut of images impedes the novel's pace. A slimmer book might have served better as a demonstration of Cocozza's talent. Early on, Mary's glance at her outfit's reflection ('Midnight blue – so good with her chestnut hair') sets the scene for a rather uninspired romance; however, How to Be Human is quite a different kind of love story. Transgressive and beautiful, in its pages we find loss and frailty, strength and resilience, sanity and what lies beyond. It is an accomplished debut, from a writer we hope to read much more from in the future.