Camberton’s second novel is a coming of age portrayal of “down Hackney”, home of David Hirsch, who steadily leaves behind his Jewish upbringing in adolescence to explore the wider world of London. Typically there is wide array of humorous characters in his portrayal of Hackney and the more cosmopolitan world Hirsch is drawn towards.

The book is written from the standpoint of the “bum”: that bearded and corduroyed figure who may be seen crouching over a half of bitter in the corner of a Bloomsbury “pub”; it is ostensibly concerned with the rise and fall of a short-lived literary review, but Mr. Camberton, who appears to be devoid of any narrative gift, makes this an excuse for dragging in disconnectedly and to little apparent purpose a series of thinly disguised local or literary celebrities. This edition includes an introduction by Iain Sinclair available online.