About Time

By author Mr Michael Estorick (1970)

Michael Estorick's sixth novel takes a scalpel to the comfortable inheritance of the English middle class, following its two main characters, Bill and Pete, as they navigate the end of their middle years and prepare for what is left. The two men, friends for almost fifty years, meet and meet again to evaluate and revisit their shared past.

About Time is not a calm or forgiving story; neither is it a swaggering comedy. It is too knowing and intelligent for that. But beneath the jaded sophistication is an exceptionally well-crafted picture of two lives which are at once privileged and haunted.

Estorick's ability to write naturalistic dialogue breathes vibrant and immediate life into their twin journeys. But there is also a brave and original construction to the novel. Bill and Pete's brittle exchanges are contained in miniature chapters which tantalise the reader. So much is left unsaid. It is like being on an archaeological dig where tiny bits of a complex site protrude from the earth.

There is a great deal to enjoy in the casual snobbery and obsessive pondering over relationships and the writer's acute observation sometimes produces delicious embarrassment. Through all this, the bonds of friendship strain but refuse to break.

In the denouement, caution, both from the writer and his characters, is thrown to the wind.

Publisher: Arcadia Books (10 July 2019) ISBN-10: 1911350668 ISBN-13: 978-1911350668

Written by CH (1970)

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