Bernard And Pat

Catherine is five years old when her father dies. With her mother out at work, she and her brother James must spend more and more time at Bernard and Pat's house. Bernard and Pat are childminders. Bernard and Pat's house has a lot of rules. Catherine only knows the rules when she is shouted at for breaking them. Or when everyone laugh-laughs at her. And Catherine is confused. So sad and so humiliated. Sometimes Catherine is left alone with Bernard. And she is scared of the dark and she is small and she cries. Bernard and Pat are Christians. Catherine doesn't think they behave like good people. She wonders why nobody else can see this too. Now Catherine is grown up. But Catherine is stuck, living the voice of herself as a child. Furious that nobody protected her; that nobody told her people could do such things. Fierce, playful and searing - Catherine's voice is unforgettable, created by a writer deeply aware of the peculiarities of memory and committed to the often painful task of putting lived experience into words.

Ideal for readers interested in reading.