I'll go to bed at noon

Second part of trilogy. Part of its originality consists in its depiction of a dysfunctional family as part of a prosperous neighbourhood of suburban north London. The integration of the violent family dynamics with the genteel surroundings, as well as the background panorama of 1970's political history, has been praised by many critics. It is rigorous both in depiction of its particular era, and in its handling of viewpoint, the restrictions on which contribute to a sense of isolation amongst some of the central characters. It employs a number of stylistic innovations: each part of the book is prefaced by a letter written in gothic typeface, one of which includes a line that is written upside down. The final part of the book includes facsimiles of documents referred to in the text. It draws on and develops the traditional image of the English house as a space that embodies the lives of the family that inhabit it. As Kasia Boddy (Daily Telegraph) noted, 'In some ways this is as much the story of a house as of a family…every act of destruction, reconstruction or reorganization testifies to a stage in the family's history…'. Shortlisted - Man booker Prize 2004 and Encore Award