The problem with having a holiday that gives me plenty of time to read is the resulting backlog of reviews to write. With this review of Perfect by Rachel Joyce, I’m thankfully up-to-date.

Despite the title, Perfect is not a perfect book – it was however a perfect beach read. The blurb reads –

“In 1972, two seconds were added to time. It was in order to balance clock time with the movement of the earth. Byron Hemming knew this because James Lowe had told him and James was the cleverest boy at school. But how could time change? The steady movement of hands around a clock was as certain as their golden futures.

Then Byron’s mother, late for the school run, makes a devastating mistake. Byron’s perfect world is shattered. Were those two extra seconds to blame? Can what follows ever be set right?”

I was smitten from the opening paragraph which mentions both the year I was born* and the fabulous Eurovision contest – Continue reading →