If you have time only to read one short novel this year, and you haven’t already discovered it, then it must be this one – “The Two Pound Tram” by William Newton.

I read it in a few hours spread over two days. Had I not started late, I’m sure that I would not have put it down until I had completed it. Looking at the reviews printed on the back I can see that I am in good company in recommending this. It is an extraordinary tale told by one of two brothers, set primarily just before and during the second world war. To say anything else about it would spoil what I regard as my literary discovery of the year. Actually I bought it as a Christmas present for a close relative over a year ago, and on visiting this weekend, spotted it on the bookshelf. I’m afraid I wasn’t much company after that .
Winner of the Society of Authors Sagittarius Prize.
If you have to learn more before buying yourself a copy, then I will just add this tail-end of a review that I discovered elsewhere (I’m sure you can find the source without too much difficulty with a simple ..ogle )
“Whether the story is truth or fantasy, however, is not important. It is a wonderful story, told by a story-teller who, if nothing else, can embroider facts so imaginatively that you suspend disbelief. It reads like a memoir, and it captures with deceptive simplicity and humour the adventure, optimism, delights and disappointments of the vanished world of youth. It is a pleasure to read.“