A 21st-Century retelling of Nancy Mitford's classic The Pursuit of Love, India Knight's novel Darling transposes the original to the bohemian household of Alconleigh farm in Norfolk. Our narrator is Franny, and teenage Linda Radlett lives with her rock-star father Matthew, ethereal mother Sadie, and her many siblings. It is an ambitious idea but, according to The Guardian, "Knight rises to that challenge with aplomb… Darling is a very human book, full of feelings and heartbreak and humour and joy". Meanwhile, iNews says that the characters are depicted with an "enveloping warmth", and the novel is "an absolute hoot". It concludes: "This is a gorgeously bittersweet portrait of growing up, where happiness is only ever fleeting." (LB)
