Joy for a reviewer is being able to both commend a book and recommend it to readers of any almost any predilection. Fabulous Lives is such a book. The diverse characters in Bindy Pritchard’s stories are multidimensional and replete with personal history, brought to life by a gifted writer who may – in her third-person narratives, at least – bring Anne Tyler to mind. Effortlessly depicting such recognisable settings as a suburban bowling alley, a canal housing estate, international airports and a new hospital with teething problems, Pritchard is never less than observant, wise and emotionally engaging. This collection heralds the arrival of a writer to watch.