Gabriel's gift is a joy to read. A huge fan of Kureishi's screenplay 'My Beautiful Launderette', which became a feature film starring Daniel Day Lewis, I devoured this new book by the author in one weekend.

What amazes me most about Hanif Kureishi's writing is his ability to see the world without cynicism, in an optimistic almost joyous way. The naivety and innocence of youth are skilfully captured in Gabriel's character.

Gabriel, son to ageing hippy parents, is growing up in North London under the untutored care of Hannah, an East European nanny-cum-au pair. We sense the boy's desperation at his parents crumbling marriage and loss at the ousting of this father from the family home.

Gabriel's world consists of avoiding Hannah and his mother's drunken friends and wrapping himself up in his schooling and art. He even hallucinates and holds imaginary conversations with his dead twin brother, Archie. But his imagination and the comfort gleaned from the remembrance of his brother help Gabriel to grow up and take on many otherwise daunting challenges. Most are of the teenage kind - difficult conversations with either parent, support for his father and developing his own budding skills.

A chance meeting with a 70's rock star, Lester Jones, who is hero-worshipped by his parents, leads to a turning point in all their lives. Lester gifts Gabriel a painting - coveted by the three main characters for differing reasons.

Gabriel's gift proves to be a talisman for the family. Gabriel's father finally manages to gain independence and enjoys it. His mother has a chance to relive some of her "lost" youth and gains her own sense of self worth. Gabriel finds less turbulence in his life. Through a few short seasons we witness the boys growing maturity and the ebb & flow of family living in modern-day London.

Hanif Kureishi's wry humour is beautifully displayed in the character of Hannah whose face is described to be "like a bag of hammers". Hannah, a refugee from a former Communist country "solders scrambled eggs and torches toast for breakfast" and could "eat for England". She hails from a town called "bronchitis, with a winding river called influenza running through it"!

Described as one "whose only qualification with children was the possibility that she might once have been a child herself", this portrait of contemporary urban childcare is unerringly accurate. Hannah has to walk behind Gabriel when picking him up from school as he is too embarrassed at his friends knowing that he still has a nanny. A modern day curse for working families and one that will strike a chord with many a parent.

All the characters in the book are recognisable and intricately portrayed. This book is a joy to read from start to finish.

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