of penance and the longing for redemption'. The Scotsman, calling it 'a compelling and elegantly crafted novel' describes the world it is set in as 'a dystopian future London which has been split into two halves, one puritanical, the other hedonistic. The first of Morin's novel to have a male protagonist it is largely narrated by Rich Powers, a wealthy immunologist. When Power's perfect wife Ice goes missing, the ghosts of his troubled past become more intrusive and he develops an ambiguous relationship with Trash White, who The Times describes as 'an innocent(ish) schoolgirl'. Although Powers is the main narrator, the triangle which emerges between him, Ice and Trash is given an extra dimension by sections narrated first by Ice and then by Trash. The apocalyptic climax of the novel unfolds in the shadow of the figure The Times calls 'the mysterious, shape-shifting Chairman Luck'. A short film based on the book was produced by filmmaker and photographer Andrew Catlin. Early career Morin's first impact as a writer was as a prize winner of the Bridport short story competition in 1984. John Fowles described her entry Thin White Girls as 'an intriguing blend of sophistication and innocence'. She followed this by winning the Stand short story competition in 1987. Thin White Girls was subsequently published by Faber & Faber in their First Fictions collection along with her Stand-prize-winning short story "Hotel Summer" later republished in The Herald newspaper. Thin White Girls, like much of Morin's subsequent fiction, is narrated by a young female with a ruthless and unusual sense of humour. 'I think about toilets a lot,' she tells us, 'and how awful it must be to be a toilet.' This leads to the narrator writing a story at school from the point of view of a toilet. 'It was one of those stories where it's about the person telling it, so everything's "I", except the "I" hasn't to be yourself, if you see what I mean.' Her teacher is angry, 'But really I know my idea was much better' she continues, 'and when I'm out of her school I'll write about toilets as much as I like.' Patrick Gale called it a "witty recreation of the fierce ambitions and divided loyalties of childhood". First novel: Lampshades Carole Morin's first novel Lampshades was published by Secker and Warburg in 1991. Largely set in a London and Glasgow that is almost,