Guilt's in the eye of the beholder. So you tell me what you think you'd have done. You be the judge.
When, like her cold and indifferent husband, Lois' old life vanishes into thin air, she can't help snatching at the opportunity to come alive.
There's only one fly in the ointment: Janie Gay, the feckless and spiteful mother of her wayward son's child. But as Lois takes her second - and redeeming - chance at love, she finds herself on a collision course with a society that claims to support and protect. She lays her plans, and suddenly it seems that all those years of nurturing her own deep-frozen heart may not have been so wasted after all...
In this, her seventh novel for adults, Anne Fine offers a deeply chilling portrayal of what can happen when the remorseless convictions of society clash with the impulse of a determined mother.
Good Housekeeping listed Fly in the Ointment as one of their "Seven Great Reads" for April 2008, and said:
"Never shy of examining the nastier bits of our natures, Fine chillingly tackels the business of bad mothers - and lawless grandmothers."
"As wicked and dangerous as ever, Anne Fine is on sparkling form... Deploying both wit and daring, Fine pokes away at the cracks in our moral compass with the sharpest of pens."
"It should be read, ingested, discussed, then read again. It raises matters germane to the lives of pretty much everyone. It is subtle, nuanced, beguiling and often shocking. It will smash and grab your attention right from the start. Book groups take note."
"Fine is a storyteller of brilliance, and this short tragedy is utterly compelling."
"this waspish, grimly funny and compulsively readable novel..."
"Anne Fine's trademark bite is ever-present in short, sharp and typically dark novel, thankfully leavened with an acute sense of humour."
Daily Mail
"As cool, elegant and blackly funny as Anne Fine gets in a tale of love grandparent style...but what a grandparent!"
Classic FM
Fly in the Ointment is published by Bantam Press (publication date 25th March 2008); order Fly in the Ointment from 
or from your local bookshop, quoting the ISBN: 978-0-593-05993-7.
The paperback edition (pictured left) will be published by Black Swan on 12th February 2009; it is already available for pre-order from Amazon; the ISBN is 978-0-552-77467-3.
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