Young Tom; or, Very mixed company

Forrest Reid was a very popular and highly-respected writer in his day, the friend of E.M. Forster and Walter de la Mare, but is almost totally forgotten these days. You are unlikely to have come across him unless you have a particular interest in Ulster writers or in pioneers of gay writing (two interests that don't necessarily coincide very often!).

This novel is the third part of his "Tom" trilogy, published in 1944. The three parts were written in reverse chronological order: in this one we meet Tom at the age of eleven, living an idyllic life in rural Ireland in his last summer of freedom before starting proper school. It's all very Natural History, full of early-20th century charm (you half expect Romany of the BBC to turn up with show more his gypsy caravan and tape recorder). If you can get past the dogs, squirrels and water-rats — beware: they talk (Reid was a fan of the Doctor Doolittle books) — then there is a charming and innocent friendship with a farm boy that may or may not be suggestive, but you may well feel as though you're drowning slowly in syrup before you ever get that far. show less