Book review: The Valley At The Centre Of The World, by Malachy Tallack

Malachy Tallack’s first novel is serious, low-key, humane, nothing showy about it. You might call it old-fashioned, but really, or more accurately, it isn’t so much old-fashioned as out of fashion. There’s no fantasy or whimsy about it. No reviewer will praise it as “ludic”. Its characters aren’t the author’s playthings; they are made and treated with sympathy and respect. Low-key as it is, this respect makes it a life-affirming book.