This is the third Linda Grant novel I have read (after A Stranger City and When I Lived in Modern Times), and I have loved them all. I can't believe, however, that it took me until last year to discover this very talented author. Published 14 years ago, The Clothes on Their Backs was a worthy candidate to have been shortlisted for that year's Booker Prize. Certain themes naturally appear across all Grant's work: a love of London, a connection with Jewish roots/identity, and the role sex plays in driving passions (and hence decisions). At its simplest, The Clothes on Their Backs is a coming-of-age novel detailing how Vivien — the narrator — gains in awareness, moving from the seclusion of her parents' house to an independent woman. I identified with Vivien's desire to break out from the quiet life — one defined by not standing out — and that her parents believed in. Much of the novel focuses on Vivien's relationship with her seemingly disreputable uncle, even if it is only through him that she learns about her family's history. Just as every story has more than one side to it, so Grant seems to assert, we are superficially defined by the ‘clothes on our backs’. Don't judge simply on appearances. A novel I would be very happy to reread: nine and a half out of ten.
By Linda Grant