Tales of the Suburbs substance abuse Laurie Frankel's This Is How

Laurie Frankel's This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations

in part by building relationships with johns

at the height of the Biafran civil war

'Brilliant world-building

will always be found again

Tales of the Suburbs substance abuse Laurie Frankel's This Is HowAs a boy growing up in the Black Country drained grey by Mrs Thatcher's steely policies Jamie dreams of escape to a magical metropolis where he can rub shoulders with the mythical creatures who inhabit the pages of his Smash Hits. Though his hometown is not without characters and Jamie's life not without dramas courtesy of a cast of West Midlands divas led by his mother, Gloria. Her one liners are as colourful as the mohair cardies she carries off