Towards the End of the Morning – Michael Frayn

Towards the End of the Morning was another charity shop find, picked up as I recognised Michael Frayn as the author of Spies his novel which won the Whitbread Award (now called the Costa Book Award). I’d thoroughly enjoyed that book so was interested to see what else he had written.

This book was originally published back in 1967 and tells of life in a small department in a Fleet Street based national newspaper. There are a couple of central characters in the book in the form of two journalists (or maybe newspaper employees would be a more accurate term) John Dyson and Bob, Bob’s neighbour Mrs Mounce, John’s wife Jannie and Bob’s girlfriend Tessa. Although there is a bit of a plot the book more just follows them going about their lives in a slightly meandering manner.

By the time I got half way through the book I was starting to feel a bit bogged down by it, but after getting over this hump the book suddenly started to flow much quicker and the second half of the book seemed to be over in no time at all. I enjoyed reading it, but have to admit that it was hard in parts. I wouldn’t say it was necessarily an enjoyable story though, mainly because there wasn’t that much story behind it all. If you come across a copy then it’s worth reading, but certainly wouldn’t seek it out.