I think Elizabeth Jane Howard must have spent a lot of time at the hairdresser’s – this book is a well-observed portrait of life in a salon, with its capricious and demanding clients and put-upon staff. Gavin is 31, still a virgin, still living at home with his mum and dad and not at all confident. He can chat easily enough with his clients, amongst whom he is a firm favourite, but outside the salon he’s shy and diffident. He can get things right at work, but outside it’s not so easy for him. But suddenly his luck seems to be turning when no less than 3 women turn up at once to upend his solitary existence. This is social comedy of the highest order, perceptive yet always gentle, and a wonderful portrait of a kind and well-meaning young man. The three women he meets are perhaps too extreme in their eccentricities to be totally convincing but Gavin carries the narrative along and must surely be one of the nicest hairdressers you’re ever likely to meet.