The If Game by Catherine Storr (Oxford University Press pound;6.99), a powerful writer who died in 2001, also explores the theme of boys dealing with their feelings. Stephen has been brought up from the age of four by his father Will, who is hard-working and extremely reserved.
Will has always refused to discuss what happened to Stephen’s mother. The boy had been left to play the “what-if-life-had-been-different” game in his mind. When Stephen finds a bunch of keys that open doors into other worlds, his questions begin to be answered.
The tension and expressive economy of this novel - an extremely moving exploration of fatherson relationships - keeps the keen top primary reader enthralled.
