The set up for Perfect is as follows:

In 1972, two seconds were added to time. It was in order to balance clock time with the movement of the earth. Byron Hemming knew this because James Lowe had told him and James was the cleverest boy at school. But how could time change? The steady movement of hands around a clock was as certain as their golden futures.

Then Byron’s mother, late for the school run, makes a devastating mistake. Byron’s perfect world is shattered. Were those two extra seconds to blame? Can what follows ever be set right?

If I was a really shitty critic I’d begin this review by saying something pithy like:It’s the brave author who decides to call their book Perfect. Instead I’d rather show you why I loved this book so much:

‘I know what I’m doing Byron, I don’t need help’. Every word of Lucy’s sounded like a neat little attack on the air

There’s something just a little bit perfect about that turn of phrase. … a neat little attack on the air… Those seven words not only say something about the core theme of the novel – class – it also gives us insight into Lucy’s upbringing (she’s Byron’s younger sister). A neat little attack – no gnashing of teeth, or screeching and shouting. Good boys and girls who go to the best private schools don’t resort to tantrums and meltdowns.

And class, or as Susanna Rustin describes it in her review for the Guardian, the perils of ‘social mobility’, is key to the novel. Byron’s mother Diana is trapped by her upper class lifestyle, a world she wasn’t born into. While her ‘friend’ Beverley wants desperately to break away from her blue collar existence. Much of the books narrative drive comes from that friction of class and status between Diana and Beverley.

Anxiety and mental illness also play a significant role in the way the characters develop especially, and sadly, Byron and his best friend James. For those who’ve read the book I’d be curious to know whether Joyce has appropriately captured the uneasiness and fear that can result from a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. As someone who doesn’t know any better, the portrayal of Jim who has OCD felt genuine.

It’s interesting comparing this novel with Neil Gaiman’s Ocean At The End Of The Lane. Both are about memory and recalling a dark moment from one’s past. Both have children as the central characters. And yet the Joyce has the heart that the Gaiman lacks. My opinion of course, but there is an astonishing, heartbreaking scene late in the novel – one that I refuse to spoil – that Joyce has earned simply because of her brilliant character work.

There is a character revelation toward the end of the novel that I found a bit obvious. It doesn’t derail the book – I was completely sold by that stage – but I’m not completely sure why Joyce felt the thematic and narrative need to hide this particular plot point.

But apart from that minor quibble I recommend / endorse / suggest you purchase right this moment Perfect by Rachel Joyce. And while you’re doing that I’m going to add her critically acclaimed first novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, to the queue.