Charlotte Cory (1956- )

It doesn't happen very often, but every now and then you pick up a book at random, completely at random, without knowing anything about the author; and something, maybe the cover, or a blurb, or the first few pages read as you stand by the shelf in the second-hand bookshop; something, anyway, gets a hook in you, you can almost see the skin standing upright, and you read the book to see if your instincts are still working and if it is as special as you allowed yourself to think it might be; and it usually is not, because instinct is a funny set of wires, always leading us to leap away from danger or towards interesting things when, as my cats will tell you, there is no danger, and nothing more interesting than a cork, or a balled-up and unwanted piece of paper. But every now and then instinct gets it gloriously right. I picked up this book on the offchance, in fact I read the first few pages and left it and then came back a week or so later and it was still there and I thought what the hell archy, and it is absolutely amazing. The Unforgiving (Faber and Faber, 1991). You can read more about it here, and can learn more about the fascinating Ms. Cory here, and here is a sample of her equally attractive art.