Barbara Trapido 
Noah’s Ark 

________________________’There is no mistaking Trapido’s narrative talent: racy, vibrant and witty’ – Guardian’Reading it is rather like being bombarded with sequins’ – Observer________________________Ali Bobrow is a single parent with a fraught nine-year-old daughter, a malevolent ex with a grabby new wife, and an underused artistic talent. A pushover when it comes to needy neighbours and uninvited children, she allows her house to be the local drop-in centre, until she collides with Noah Glazer. A solid man of science, Noah walks into Ali’s life bringing good sense, order and security. But ten years on, Ali is drawn back into the complexities of her past: an old lover, two ex-spouses, a colleague from clown school and a small smuggled cat all help to rock the boat.________________________’The plot’s interplay of flashbacks and digressions, which prompt bright dialogue and dark complications, recalls Matisse’s line and palette. Some sentences can be relished in isolation, like fine brushwork’ – New Yorker’Full of wisecracks, efficiency, carnal delights, and love of children warm and comic’ – The Times’Funny, sexy, glowing’ – Time Out