Life

Book reviews

The Rest Just Follows by Glenn Patterson, published by Faber & Faber.

GLENN Patterson's latest novel tracks the lives of three Belfast friends against the evolving backdrop of the Troubles and peace process.

Initially thrown together by quirks of geography and the educational system, Craig, Saint John and Maxine move in and out of each others' orbits as their lives grow longer and more complex.

The book is at its most vividly compelling while they are still full of youthful vim and vigour, gleefully indulging in typically teenaged misbehaviour against the charged backdrop of Belfast in the late 70s and early 1980s - recreated here by Patterson with admirably accurate period detail, perhaps recalled from his own misspent youth in his native city.

By the time the 40-something Saint John is a budding television presenter in England, a potentially awkward reunion with Craig in post-ceasefire Belfast could also take his career to the next level.

Unfortunately for Saint John, history teachers like Craig tend to have long memories.

As for hair-dresser turned industrial textile savvy businesswoman/alternative politician Maxine, the undoubted star of these enjoyable if realistically uneven interwoven tales, she really deserved her own novel. n Glenn Patterson will launch The Rest Just Follows at The Ulster Museum in Belfast on February 20. See noalibis.com for free ticket details. Read our interview with Patterson discussing his Bafta nomination for Good Vibrations in Saturday's Weekend section.

David Roy

The Dark Box: A Secret History Of Confession: Confession In The Catholic Church by John Cornwell, published by Profile Books. THE Dark Box of John Cornwell's title refers to the place that is perhaps the greatest source of fascination for non-Catholics: the confession box. It has not always been so; until the 16th century, the penitent sinner knelt before their confessor, until the Vatican deemed this too rife with temptation, and introduced the dark, enclosed confessional box. This is the springboard for Cornwell's survey and history.

The author draws on his personal experience to highlight problems with confession down the ages.

Yet his position is never one of polemic - his ambivalence towards religion stops his book standing as a tirade against Catholicism and instead stands as a balanced account of confession.

CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown, published by Macmillan Children's Books. Mr Tiger lives in a world where everyone around him is buttoned up and obsessed with being proper.

Though he wears a very proper suit and hat and extends his curtsies to his fellow creatures, he feels out of place.

Fed up, he decides to stop walking around on his hind legs and starts pouncing around as nature intended. Finally happy, Mr Tiger decides to move to the wild.

But while feels truly free in the wild, he misses his friends and heads back. Short in words, the glorious illustrations make this an enjoyable read.