Grant shows the extent of her authorial skills again in this novel by returning to an almost forgotten part of history for the context of this work, which has clear contemporary relevance too. The start of the 1950s, when rationing was in place, Queen Elizabeth was about to accede to the throne and there was no cure for tuberculosis, forms the backdrop to The Dark Circle. Its title refers both to a euphemism for the disease (a "dark circle" on the lungs) and the band formed by the group of people - many Jewish, per Grant's other works and her own background - brought together by unfortunate circumstance. Beyond being full of vignettes, both amusing and tragic, the novel also serves as a call to arms for the Health Service: fund it properly, or it may fail. Underlying all the above is an ongoing Grant preoccupation about change and history. Below the surface (literal and metaphorical) lies a complex past. London and the broader Earth are in a state of constant metamorphosis. Very good, even if not quite as strong as some of Grant's other works: nine out of ten.
By Linda Grant