Unlike any other person I had come across Welch seemed to be speaking particularly to me Alan BennettVivid ... surprising ... an exquisite balance of pain and beauty GuardianOrvil Pym does not fit in. A waifish eccentric sensitive fifteenyearold he hates school and longs to be alone. Spending his Summer holidays in a genteel Surrey hotel with his mysterious father and two brothers who dont understand him he explores ancient churches spies on a man rowing in the river and collects antiques escaping into his own singular aesthetic world. First published in 1945 this is an unforgettable portrayal of a young mans sensuous comingofage.A heightened sensual journey ... it is Orvils vibrant energy that allows this book to bubble ... beautifully odd ... spectacular Independent