With the slush pile now going the way of the ice-cap, G.B. Edwards's miraculous novel The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is one more instance - beyond the usually trotted out Lord of the Flies by William Golding, who was an admirer - of why that might be a pity, and why, ice-caps permitting, we might come to regret it.

LRB 24 January 2008 | PDF Download