"Left and Leaving" by Jo Verity

“Left and Leaving” is Jo Verity’s fifth novel and to my mind it’s her best yet. It is beautifully written in an almost conversational style which feels entirely appropriate to the story. I normally prefer sparser prose, yet this seemed to have a natural rhythm and flow, with perceptive observations of how people react to life events.

Her two main protagonists, Gil and Vivian, are sharply drawn and the voices she creates for them are realistic and natural. At times I felt more of a voyeur than a reader, which I think is a testament to Verity’s skill as a writer.

I was fortunate enough to have Jo as a guest reader on the Arvon course that I attended back in 2012, co-tutored by the inspirational Stephen May and the enthusiastic Lizzie Enfield. Jo read us the early chapters of “Left and Leaving”, which was her work-in-progress at that stage (although my memory tells me that she might have added a new opening chapter since that reading). She reads her work well and the characters of Gil and Vivian stayed with me over the last two years to the point that reading the novel felt almost like catching up with old friends.

Verity quickly establishes a believable set of dilemmas for her main characters and cleverly avoids shifting the focus too far away from them, using her supporting characters to craft a nuanced background to the main narrative. I particularly liked the character of Vivian’s father, Philip Carey; irascible, irritating yet perfectly delineated.

Without revealing any spoilers the ending was as unexpected as it was refreshing; again displaying a lightness of touch that I could appreciate with recognition of the great restraint that it must have taken not to over-write. Overall I found the novel to be both rewarding and inspiring and I would recommend it unreservedly.