Julian Fane's latest novel is about a confirmed bachelor of a certain age who faces a spiritual upheaval. The hero (or anti-hero) of this religious comedy is Robin. He lives near his cousins Zinnia and Max in a humdrum suburb of North London. In this multi-racial community, people of all faiths (and those who have no faith) are willing to offer contradictory advice on how to live happily ever after. One day, metaphorically, a meteor falls from on high into the middle of the community. Julian Fane describes an unexpected sequence of events convincingly and with humour and pace. The result is, on one level, a comedy but, on another level, this is a profound and poignant discussion about religious faith. The prose is crystal clear, whichever way you read it.