Good to a Fault

Being an addition to the occasional series in which I recommend books I've just read and that I loved. This one's by a Canadian writer, Marina Endicott, and I give some preliminary indication of its qualities by saying she reminded me somewhat of Anne Tyler and somewhat of Marilynne Robinson. But I risk doing Endicott down by these references, for she is a true original, the story she tells here sparkling with moments, perceptions, that she captures in an arresting though side-on way. Good to a Fault recounts a passage in the life of Clara Purdy, who takes a family into her home after accidentally crashing into their car. The mother of this family, Lorraine, is diagnosed by the hospital to which they are taken as having cancer, possibly terminal, and the titular conception is that Clary (as she is known) is set on being and doing good. At the same time, looking after Lorraine's children soon begins to fulfil a powerful need, and the dynamics of Clary's motivation, the difficulties of the relationships involved, the details of daily life in a house with three children and a catankerous old grandmother, are brilliantly explored. There's more, too, than I've told in this brief summary. But, anyway, never mind the prizewinners; this ought to be one, whether it is or not. If you regret reading it, you can blame me - but you won't. (See also the review here by WotN.)