Welcome to South London, to one of the nicest streets in one of the country's vilest boroughs . . .

For the residents of Lark Grove, events shunt into each other like cars on a fogbound motorway: characters like Anna, a butter-side-up sort of woman; Anna's neighbour Jo, the kind of woman who can ask for a pound of sausages without the butcher smirking; their sons and daughters - Nancy-boy Jed, snivelling Henry, prepubescent Uberbitch Georgina and fat Pandora; Jo's husband Nigel, a terrible one for casual sex; and Anna's husband, 'good old Chris', the worm that turns.

Jenny Eclair's debut novel brilliantly dissects the problems of urban living. Camberwell Beauty - come inside, shut the door and smell the coffee. You could almost be in Kensington.