Something Beginning With

One of the great hidden gems of the past decade.Written in brief entries from ‘Ambition’ to ‘Zzzzz’ Salway's confident debut novel chronicles the existential ups and downs of British 20-something Verity Bell.The alphabetically arranged mini-chapters make for an inventive and episodic narrative, as Verity muses on her career (A is for Attitude: «I work as a secretary in the media… something I don't always talk about because some people seem to think I'm showing off»), her friendship with the fabulous Sally (B is for Best Friends: «my best friend, Sally, has become the mistress of a millionaire called Colin»), her feelings on Gwyneth Paltrow (G is for You-Know-Who: «If I lo…