Brothers deals with the rites of passage of a teenage boy who struggles with his own homosexuality through the revelation of his dead younger brother’s.  Whilst reading his brother's diary, the protagonist learns about his brother’s inner strength, both during his illness and in the admission that he is gay. The diary is a narrative mechanism for revealing both characters simultaneously to the reader, and a useful device for dealing with gay pride as well as denial. The surviving brother eventually learns not only to embrace life, but to accept the truth of his identity -- an identity his brother ironically built his own courage upon.

This is a children’s book, but one of those which lends itself well to adult reading.  Whereas, as The Observer stated in one review, children’s fiction tends to lie by omission, Brothers deals ‘with tricky subjects such as death, sexuality and family relationships’ without prettifying the emotions. The book ‘is hard as a bone and all the better for it’. I agree, but to be honest, I did get a lump in my throat towards the end of this one.

Ted van Lieshout, Brothers. Collins 2001. £2.34