Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

After all the "bleak" books I have read recently (even though they have been very enjoyable, full of escapism and occasional humour) it has been a pleasant if light change to read Framed last night and this morning. This book was also shortlisted for the Whitbread Award and the Carnegie Medal in 2006, and it is easy to see why - a feelgood book, easy to read, but with a deep theme. I really enjoyed the references to famous works of art throughout the book and the way they were able to transform a small Welsh town. And I must go and look up Manod now ...