Alison HC (C: 0-1-2)
Relisted
Alison tells the story of a young British painter who seizes upon the opportunity to escape from her quiet life in Dorset to the thrumming art scene of late-1970s London. But the vehicle for her escape is an older man whose reputation as an artist and philanderer casts a shadow which will follow Alison for years. Combining immaculate prose and stunning artwork, Alison is a complex love and coming-of-age story, as well as a meditation on female friendship and empowerment, class and patriarchy, the cre- ative process and the thorny world of fine art.