Engrossing novel paints a picture of three futures

fiction: The Versions of Us. By Laura Barnett. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, €17.50.

Laura Barnett: an engrossing and moving book. Picture: Sarah Lee
Laura Barnett: an engrossing and moving book. Picture: Sarah Lee

A lane in Cambridge in 1958: a girl on a bicycle swerves to avoid a dog. Her name is Eva Edelstein, and although she doesn’t know it, this is a moment which will determine the rest of her life. As she avoids the animal, she cycles over a rusty nail, puncturing the tyre of her bike, and a young man comes to her aid. His ...