I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes (Jaclyn Moriarty, Picador, $30 tpb, ISBN 0330421379, November)

Jaclyn Moriarty’s first novel for adults is wacky, sensitive and just plain fun. Better known as a writer for young adults, Moriarty’s newest book is billed as ‘a fairytale for grown-ups’ and it certainly lives up to the tag—this is feel-good comedy with a touch of magic. The fairytale revolves around the Zing family and the family secret that brings them together in the garden shed every Friday night. This is top-secret stuff, coordinated by the older Zings and supported by careful detective work from the younger Zings and their partners. Their special brand of logic and determination ensures that they affect other lives in profound, but not always good, ways. The fairytale element exists in the ultimate triumph of hope in this novel. Despite their interfering, bungling ways and their personal failures, hope reigns because the Zings are simply trying to make the best of what life has dealt them. The Zings are entirely well-meaning and so, misguided though their actions may be, in their good intentions lies their redemption. A great read for those who need a pick-me-up with a generous dash of humour.

Kabita Dhara

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2004, Thorpe-Bowker