Another of P’s library books; I found this a curious mixture of annoying and extremely good.
An autobiographical (I assume) story of a young girl from the Orkney Isles, who as a rebellious teenager rejects all and runs off to London, where she descends into a fairly grim spiral of alcoholism, partying and casual sex.
After a spate with AA she returns to the Orkneys where she discovers a life as a part time ornithologist and observer.
She manages very sharply to draw the contrasts between drinking and sobriety (which she finds pretty difficult but sticks to); the Orkneys and London; rural and urban living. Some of the contrasts are a bit forced, and I felt at times ‘come on dear, get a life and a man’ but she weathers a rough ride and she (and possibly her editor) has made a pretty good and original book out of it all.
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