Most of us come upon our family’s dysfunctions gradually, like a door that opens a little wider each year. But what happens when there was never any illusion to start with; when the story begins in the ashes? Orbiting this “isosceles”, as Jude calls it, is Juliette, Jude’s gleefully moneyed mother, and Mel, Mary’s neighbour. Yet even with regular flashbacks, A Sense of Occasion feels remarkably natural thanks to Crellin’s light touch, especially in the arch, zippy dialogue. It’s a joy, too, to read fiction that understands sex so well, and is neither sentimental nor sleazy.