Witty account of a dysfunctional family

Memoir; This Is Not My Beautiful Life: A Memoir, By Victoria Fedden, Picador, €14.60

‘When the Feds raid your house, they like to take you by surprise,” observes Victoria Fedden in the first line of her memoir. As openers go, it’s a gratifyingly hookish one.

As it happens, the house was her parents’ house. Fedden and her husband were staying there while their own house was undergoing renovations.

Not making things any easier ...