Every visible wall was lined with books. Books were stacked on the floor, on furniture, on chairs, on the kitchen table and next to the draining board. The stairs were a rat run of books. They were in the bath and filled every bedroom.
Lawrence Mortimer said, ‘As you can tell, my mother went doolally years ago. Me and my wife tried to get her certified in 1999, but her doctor said collecting books wasn’t a reason for having her put away.’…I could hardly breathe for excitement; one of the bedrooms I wandered into was filled entirely with children’s books in plastic covers.
Mortimer pays them £50.00 to take the books away.
I love Sue Townsend. She manages a sustained rant against what’s wrong with life yet still convinces the reader it is worth living.
