"Killing Time" by Alan Bennett

This is a tiny little book that sits somewhere on the cusp of a novella and a short story. Alan Bennett is now apparently ninety, but he has not lost his touch.

This manages to make the reader smile and weep at the same time, while also provoking thought and raising chuckles of recognition. The story takes place in an old people's home just before and during the covid pandemic. It teems with characters, most of whom have some form of dementia and are given to getting the wrong end of the stick, as well as doing and saying inappropriate things. They are also getting sick and several die during the story.

I loved the quirky characteristics he imbues them with. There is a lady who is obsessed with jigsaws and a gentleman who collects tat but imagines it to be of serious historic interest. Then there is the ever-present and very English snobbery that is portrayed so gently and brilliantly.

The home that is at the centre of the story is called Hill Topp, and it is more desirable and a cut above another one further down the valley called Low Moor to which residents are dispatched when their money runs out.

I would have liked this one to have been a little less brief, and for Alan to have mined this rich seam of comi-tragic material further as others like Rachel Joyce and Hendrik Groen have done so beautifully in their recent(ish) novels. A light and enjoyable read.