Look it's a Patrick Gale novel, of course this was love by the third chapter. A gay English Secret History would be a fitting and yet not fully descriptive note to make about it. As a coming of age novel, Friendly Fire deals so well with issues of family - real and found, love, sexuality and the limits/bounds of sexuality in Gale's usual heat rending beautiful prose.

It's not quite the soul-changing masterpiece that I found Take Nothing With You to be, but it's still a an utter marvel and come for this man and his works and by thunder I'll do you one.