I’d enjoyed elements of several of her books (Swimming Home, Hot Milk and especially The Man Who Saw Everything). I thought her stories quirky, her dialogue taught and interesting but I found her characters sometimes hard to like and a couple of her stories I found a little soulless. So I thought it would be interesting to delve into the life of this author a little, to discover what experiences might have helped shape this person. But this is no ordinary autobiography: to start with it’s really very short - the first part of a trilogy of memoirs - and secondly its structure is really that of an extended essay, in fact a response to Orwell’s Why I Write.

Unfortunately, I haven’t read the Orwell piece so I’m not able to comment on this aspect. But it’s clear that the early pages are a response to something, with opinions and erudite quotes sprinkled amongst a brief account of a trip to Majorca. This trip occurred within the past ten years (her references to her writing confirms this) and it seems that the island provides a retreat she returns to when she needs to escape, to reflect and to refresh herself. In truth, it’s an island I’ve visited many times and always with some of the same outcomes in mind!

The remainder of the books touches on her early life in South Africa, a time in which her ANC supporting father was one day arrested and taken away – she wouldn’t see him again for four years. Then there’s a section when, as a teenager living in a North London suburb, she reflects on her time as a rebellious would be writer living ‘in exile’. These anecdotes paint vivid pictures of both time and place, and show something of what her early life must have comprised.

I’m not quite sure how to rate this one, there’s enough here to pull me back for part two but I had felt my mind wondering through the first section, in particular. It’s a taster menu when I was up for a full three courses with all the trimmings. I got a sense of things and enjoyed much of what was there, but without finding it fully satisfying. However, I’m in a generous mood so I’ll go with three and half stars rounded up to four.