Paperback Of The Day

Daniel Rathbone is a 13-year-old schoolboy in 1970s Bath when he first discovers that he can see in the dark. Stuck in the middle of a disused railway tunnel, he takes the opportunity to tell his companion on the field trip, Carey Schumacher, that he can no longer be friends with such a ginger nerd. Besides, Dan is in love with Gregory Bray. Twelve years later Dan's mother gives him a Victorian writing box that had once belonged to his father. A secret compartment is found to contain a photograph of Carey. Why?

Eaves controls the slow-release of information with skill. He can bring a character to life in a single paragraph. His astonishing debut is clever, funny, dirty and moving. It may tell the old, old story of the getting of wisdom but first novels don't come much better than this.