Author: Maggie O'Farrell

London during the remarkably hot summer of 1976 is the setting for Maggie O’Farrell’s sixth novel, Instructions For A Heatwave, and although the actual temperature would seem quite ordinary to most Australians, her story of a family suffocating in its own drama is perceptive, enjoyable and intense.

The story moves backwards and forwards, delving into the family history of these Irish Catholics and the head-hopping narrative churns up our perspective on each of the family siblings and wittily demonstrates how families get so tangled up in misunderstanding that they can hardly be in the same room.

The level of dysfunction isn’t particularly shocking - that’s not O’Farrell’s style. She is a sensual writer who cleverly involves us in every character, teasing us about whose side we should be on.

But for me, her triumph is Gretta, the impossible matriarch whose backstory deserves to be a novel of its own.

This is a very worthwhile read.