2023/032: And Put Away Childish Things — Adrian Tchaikovsky

2023/032: And Put Away Childish Things — Adrian Tchaikovsky

"Sometimes a wardrobe is just a wardrobe. Sometimes books are just books. That's why we call it 'fiction'."[loc. 624]

Harry Bodie is a failing TV presenter, stuck in children's programming and approaching middle age, lonely and petty and prone to drinking too much. He hopes an appearance on a TV genealogy show will revive his career, but instead he discovers that his great-grandmother died in a lunatic asylum. Her daughter, Harry's grandmother, wrote a beloved series of books about the magical kingdom of Underhill: typical post-war children's fantasy, with magical creatures, slap-up feasts and home to the real world with no time passing. When a private investigator shows up, claiming that her client takes Underhill 'very seriously', Harry is dubious. But what does he have to lose?

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