Astonishing Splashes of Colour

Clare Morrall

Nov 2013 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

Kitty Wellington the narrator of Clare Morrall's absorbing sure-footed first novel has been brought up in a large family by her painter father. Surrounded by older brothers she has no real recollection of either her mother who was killed in a car crash or her sister who ran away from home. The great strength of the novel is Kitty herself. Morrall has provided her with a compelling narrative voice - wry confiding perceptive. Echoes from JM Barrie's disturbing masterpiece are quietly sounded with particular emphasis on missing mothers and "lost boys".

Ratings and reviews

I've read this book several times and I am sure I will read it again. The book keeps improving with each reading. There is so much depth in its seemingly simple, unassuming narrative that there is something new to discover with every read. The story moves forward at a quick pace, and the characters are layered and extremely well-realized. This book, for me, was love at first read.

About the author

Clare Morrall's first novel, Astonishing Splashes of Colour, was published in 2003 and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize that year. She has since published the novels Natural Flights of the Human Mind, The Language of Others, The Man Who Disappeared, which was a TV Book Club Summer Read in 2010, The Roundabout Man and After the Bombing.

Born in Exeter, Clare Morrall now lives in Birmingham. She works as a music teacher, and has two daughters.