BOOKENDS: Xmas with the exes

‘I only see radiators these days’, announces one of the characters in this novel — ‘You know, people who give out heat and warmth.’ A radiator is a pretty good description of India Knight’s Comfort and Joy (Fig Tree/ Penguin, £14.99), too: a book so kindly and funny and affectionate that you could probably warm your hands on it.

‘I only see radiators these days’, announces one of the characters in this novel — ‘You know, people who give out heat and warmth.’ A radiator is a pretty good description of India Knight’s Comfort and Joy (Fig Tree/ Penguin, £14.99), too: a book so kindly and funny and affectionate that you could probably warm your hands on it.

Miraculously, this is a feel-good story that manages not to be saccharine. Our heroine, Clara, may be nice, but she’s also barbed, tough and clever: a thoroughly modern woman. The action takes place over three consecutive Yules,
during which time Clara’s one ex-husband is joined by a second, and we learn that a certain sadness in her youth is the motor driving her desire to make Christmas lovely for everyone. Ex number two and his brilliantly comic mother — a
creation worthy of Alan Bennett — still join Clara’s dotty and extended family for Christmas. Along with ex number one, of course.

There are a great many good jokes here, among them some of the most toe-curlingly embarrassing sex-talk I have ever seen described. But concealed amid the fun, like silver coins in a Christmas pudding, is a serious theme. Knight (pictured above) makes an excellent case for being on good terms with former partners, for being brave and honourable. I wish she would write a guide to making a success of divorce; it would be a bestseller.