A brilliant barrister, Norman Zweck is the clever one of a close-knit Jewish family in the East End of London. At the age of 41, however, Norman becomes a drug addict at the mercy of his hallucinations and paranoia. When he is committed to a mental hospital, Norman feels betrayed by his father, who struggles with guilt. In this 1970 Booker Prize winner, only Bella—the unmarried sister, still in her childhood white ankle socks—can reach across the abyss of pain to bring peace to father and son.

"Splendidly sane, compassionate and often grotesquely funny."—Daily Telegraph (UK)