A nostalgic trip to the street of his childhood awakens wartime memories for an old man, drawn back by a strong scent of privet.   Stephen’s family home is very different from that of his affluent friend Keith, yet the two boys spend lots of time together, especially once Keith reveals a discovery about his own family.   This sensitively written first person narrative recreates a wartime summer in a Close where relationships are not as they seem.   It is a novel which evokes childhood and creates a keen sense of time and place.   Michael Frayn is a brilliant writer and storyteller, and this novel sparkles with superb descriptive prose whilst also delivering a clever plot.