Some writers are wary of bookshops. It is not the bright lights or the sharp smell of all that new ink, increasingly mingled these days with the aroma of fresh coffee: it is just the sight of all those books – thousands of them. ‘Why am I doing this?’ they think. ‘Does the world really need yet another book? What’s the point of it all?’ But then they read a new novel – it might even be a best-seller or have won a major prize – and think, ‘No, it’s OK. I can do as well as that, and maybe if I try hard enough I can even do better.’ So they keep writing.

From what I have read about Gregory Day, and from my reading of his new novel, Ron McCoy’s·Sea of Diamonds, he seems like a thoughtful and sensitive soul who may occasionally entertain similar thoughts. But I have good news for Mr Day: his new book was well worth the writing.