'Comedy and sympathy are the marks of Gardam's talent' Guardian 'I ought to tell you at the
beginning that I am not quite normal having had a violent experience at the age of nine'
Jessica Vye's 'violent experience' colours her schooldays and her reaction to the world around
her- a confining world of Order Marks wartime restrictions viyella dresses nicely-restrained
essays and dusty tea shops. For Jessica she has been told that she is 'beyond all possible
doubt' a born writer. With her inability to conform her absolute compulsion to tell the truth
and her dedication to accurately noting her experiences she knows this anyway. But what she
doesn't know is that the experiences that sustain and enrich her burgeoning talent will one day
lead to a new- and entirely unexpected- reality.
