Cultural Dessert

‘The Trouble with Goats and Sheep’ by Joanna Cannon

7 January 2022

I’ve been really really enjoying Joanna Cannon’s novel ‘The Trouble with Goats and Sheep’. Set in the long hot summer of 1976, it tells the story of a small suburban cul-de-sac somewhere in England where one of the residents has gone missing. Many of the novel’s chapters are narrated in the first person by 10-year-old Grace who sets out, with her friend Tilly, to solve a mystery that neither of them really understands. Grace’s naive perspective is very endearing, allowing the reader to unravel what has happened more quickly than she does - in a similar way to Mark Haddon’s 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time'. Grace and Tilly’s relationship is also charmingly reminiscent of Pooh and Piglet. Alternating with Grace’s narrative are chapters in the third person from the perspective of the other residents of the avenue which gradually reveal events nine years earlier which appear to have a bearing on what is happening now. I was a little disappointed that Joanna Cannon didn’t just give us the whole story through Grace’s eyes. The other chapters have to withhold information more artificially to prevent the reader from knowing the whole facts too soon. Nonetheless ‘The Trouble with Goats and Sheep’ is entertaining and intriguing with plenty of period detail from that memorable summer.

Labels: Books

posted by Robin Simpson @ 4:38 pm