THE TOYMAKER

J. D. Ballam (Velluminous, £8.95)

As you expect from a teacher of creative writing, The Toymaker is beautifully written. Books can be beautiful, but frankly boring. As a reader I like a little suspense and mystery. Often plots develop with sudden dramatic events. In the case of The Toymaker it is more a gradual unravelling and you can not be certain how the threads will come together.

From the first chapter, it is clear that there is a dark secret at the heart of the book, but you must wait until the end for the truth to be revealed. This remote community does not give up its secrets voluntarily.

Halfway through, I resisted the temptation to take a peek at the last chapter. I shall similarly resist ruining it for the reader by revealing the ending. I can, however, tell you the beginning.

A young man returns from Europe to his birthplace in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He investigates his father's untimely death, which had precipitated his mother's sudden return to her Italian home.

Storytelling is an art of the Appalachians and the author was born in the Maryland end of them. His first book, The Road to Harmony, was a memoir based on the early years of his life, and this latest book was originally written in dialect. I think the advice to translate it was wise. Even in English, the sense of place is palpable.

J. D. Ballam lives in Kirtlington and teaches creative writing at Oxford University's Continuing Education Department. Maybe his next novel will unravel a few secrets in rural Oxfordshire?