Hideous Kinky

Esther Freud's Hideous kinky part-memoir, part-novel, set in the 1960's, is a wonderful evocation of a childhood lived in outlandish circumstances. Told from the viewpoint of a 5 year old girl, the heroine and her elder sister Bea are taken to Morocco on the hippie trail by their mother. There they have to adapt to an exotic lifestyle while desperately craving the normality of school, mashed potato and Mars bars.

What I found quite astonishing re-reading this is how perfectly Esther Freud balances the children's own wonder at new experiences with a very childlike ability to accept the extraordinary as ordinary. She brings 1960's Morocco to life so well that you can almost smell the smells of the marketplace, and will be equally astonished by the jugglers, acrobats, and the amazing vanishing palace.

As an adult it sometimes makes for a very uncomfortable read. Although there's no doubt that the "Mum" of the novel loves her children, there are moments that I found very troubling - giving majoun ( a sweet made with cannabis) to the girls, and even more worrying leaving the oldest daughter with a couple who she barely knows. This is not a comfy read, it is however a fascinating one. It's only a short book and demands to be devoured in one sitting. Beautiful writing.