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Growing up in a small English village, George enjoys his provincial life. He first figures out that there is a world outside the village when his good friend disappears. He learns that the boy’s family moved out of the village, a notion that seems completely unknowable to George. When he moves up in school grades and begins to ride the bus, he is introduced to mixed-sex mingling by a girl pulling his hair on his first bus trip to school. Later, he’ll learn there are things about girls he likes, like kissing, but he also finds out their attention can be fleeting.
As the protagonist reaches the end of his teen years and prepares for university, he gets a glimpse of what work is like and learns that the friendships he makes with individuals of either sex can have an impact that lasts a lifetime. As the story closes, George is ready to put this first large chapter of his life behind him and head to university.
Massam writes this first section of George’s life through the lens of innocence and naivety that a well-behaved, smalltown boy typically expresses. The author’s writing is easy to read, and some of his sentences take delightful lyrical turns. This short novel is a coming-of-age work that includes episodes that made an impact on the impressionable young George. Although the protagonist’s experiences are not necessarily unique, they are ones that many readers will likely relate to. Those who appreciate a slower narrative pace and more reflective mood may find this gentle read leaving them with a smile and feelings of nostalgia.