Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch

 

The whistle stop nature of this simple adventure story is a bit deceiving. Jaf's account of growing up in London, mid-nineteenth century, combines brevity and emotion, which many writers (and some readers) would find tricky. Some readers also just don't take to historical novels – but Jamrach's Menagerie is a historical novel that doesn't slow down the action with gratuitous, footnote like, detail. And even in the historical novel genre – and admit it, there are some fine examples in this genre – it's a bit of a find. Perhaps comparisons with Life of Pi are inevitable, given the ingredients, but Birch might just have the edge. The narrator finds an almost musical rhythm to his descriptions which lifts this above the standard coming of age story. This is Carol Birch's tenth novel, and it's not so much for the enormous number of set pieces that make this book worth recommending, more that Birch seems to have captured something truthful about how we interact. Jaf lets others tell their own story within his and there is something powerful about that. Even minor characters get their own voice rather than just acting as devices. Try it. [Sue Lawrenson]