Perriam has written a collection of short stories that delves into lives acting out the obsessions of the subconscious. There is a feeling of Britain in the odd decades here - the 50's, the 70's - with odd dull decor and life constrained within four walls, or within suppressed personalities. Each story has its own allegory, its own subconscious metaphor threaded through the writing, which bobs up into the narrative - memorably on the story of repression, 'Angelfish'. Watery subterranean images create a beautiful idea of the London Underground as an underwater world, its colourful vision is contrasted with the tight-lipped feel of the story. The stories often catch people at their time of crisis, where a lifetime of delusion catches up, or compels a conclusion. There is such a quality of the strangeness of ordinary life, that sometimes the moment passes away, or is resolved in some inane inconsequential action, or indeed in a strange reckless suicide. Barrenness, clinging on to long dead relationships, small scale lives, imaginary manifestations - these are the themes played out by characters long past disillusionment. And yet the stories are not depressing or negative. There is a lack of judgement of the characters - after all, we are all acting through our own fictions of what our lives are. The narrative is pared down and the stories are constructed to unfold as short stories should. The writing gives just enough away at the beginning to engage the reader, with plenty of quirks to flavour the reading. (Kirkus UK)