The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It’s the middle of heat wave in 1976 and woman has disappeared in the avenue. Everyone is on edge. With this as the backdrop, Grace and Tilly (aged 10, ish) decide to go searching for God, just to be sure that he’s in the avenue, keeping everyone safe.
This is a story about small communities and groups judging people because they are different. It’s a bit like Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, because the outcast is judged guilty by everyone, but everyone has their own reasons for acting the way they do.
This is a lovely immersive story. It took me a little while to get into it because I kept being distracted by the almost lyrical language. The characters were very well drawn and I kept thinking about them after I’d finished the book, which always a good thing.
I really enjoyed reading it. It evoked the 1970s spookily well.
Rhoda Baxter 