Boyt, Susie

(British, 1969– )

Boyt's second novel, The Characters of Love (1997), deals with themes of love and rejection, written with wry humour and great clarity of style. Abandoned by her psychiatrist father until she is 10, Nell responds warmly to his offer of weekly meetings in luxurious cafés and a re-acquaintance based on discussion of books and poetry. But then he disappears again, and Nell's longing for love focuses on another father-figure, her university tutor, with whom she enters into a wild and destructive relationship. Boyt's first novel, The Normal Man (1995) demonstrated the same emotional perceptiveness alongside confident humour.

Elizabeth North, Mary Wesley,

Esther Freud  JR