The Great Indoors

A novel about what happens when messy life-and love-intrude on a young woman's perfectly ordered existence. Martha Bone doesn't have children; she has furniture. She doesn't have a husband; she has her shop-Martha Bone Antiques, in a fashionable London suburb. Her married sisters can meddle all they want, but that is just the way she likes it. Though Martha loves her niece and nephews, children don't really fit into her world. Their grubby fingers and muddy shoes don't go well with her cream-colored sofa and sea-grass rug. When Martha's stepfather passes away, a small misunderstanding sets into motion a surprising chain of events. First she allows a cat to stay in her flat. Then the cat brings a man, and then the man brings his children. A garbage bag full of old letters takes up residence under her kitchen table along with the cat, and entices her to dig into a past of lost loves. And then, for the first time, things in Martha's life get messy. REVIEW; Fresh, thoughtful, and beautifully observed. (The Sunday Times (London) )